On April 23rd, according to market research firm Counterpoint, Apple's iPhone sales in China in the first quarter dropped significantly by 19%, marking the worst quarterly performance since 2020.

After the decline in sales, Apple's market share ranking in the Chinese market also dropped to third, at 15.7%, leaving only 0.2 percentage points behind Huawei's 15.5% market share.

Huawei recorded a year-on-year growth rate of 69.7% in this quarter. Counterpoint pointed out that Huawei's growth is largely attributed to the successful launch of the Mate 60 series, which supports 5G, and its enduring brand reputation, which has helped it gain a huge share in the high-end mobile phone market.

Overall market, the sales of smartphones in China increased by 1.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of positive year-on-year growth.

VIVO ranked first with a market share of 17.4%, followed closely by Honor with 16.1%. "The first quarter of 2024 was the most competitive quarter in history, with only a 3% difference in market share among the top six participants," said Zhang Mengmeng, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, when commenting on market trends.

Ivan Lam, senior research analyst at Counterpoint, said that due to Huawei's comeback directly affecting Apple's performance in the high-end market, Apple's sales were suppressed this quarter. In addition, compared to previous years, Apple's demand for phone replacements has slightly weakened.

But for future iPhone sales, Lam is still relatively optimistic. He said, "We see slow but stable improvement week after week for (iPhone), so the momentum may change. In the second quarter, the possibility of new color choices combined with positive sales measures may bring the brand back on track. Of course, we are also waiting for what its AI features will bring to WWDC in June. In the long run, this may significantly drive development."

The significant decline of iPhone in the Chinese market is not good news for the upcoming financial report. 

Apple will release its Q2 2024 financial report on May 3rd.Due to the weakening demand for iPhones in the Chinese market and the lack of clear positioning for artificial intelligence strategies, analysts on Wall Street are generally skeptical of Apple's long-term growth.

Earlier today, Bank of America Securities lowered its iPhone sales forecast for the third quarter ending in June from 43 million units to 40 million units, with the market's general expectation of 43.6 million units.