Apple's victory in the last quarter of 2024 in China hides a more complex reality than it seems. The Cupertino brand managed to dominate the market with the arrival of the iPhone 16, but this hides a drop in shipments of 25% which sets off all the alarms. Apple is awaiting the arrival of Apple Intelligence in the country, a key element to confront Chinese brands like Oppo, Honor or Huawei, which reign in their own country. And ultimately, Apple's success is admirable, since Even Samsung failed to appear in the sales rankings as the launch of its new flagship product approaches: the Galaxy S25.
Apple reigns alone on a veritable Chinese battlefield
The figures presented to us by Canalys concerning 2024 are very revealing. The only foreign brand that manages to establish itself in China is Apple. All this if we look at the last quarter, coinciding with the launch of the iPhone 16. Because if we look in a year, the panorama changes a lot. However, we all know that Apple's release cycle is very different from other brands.
And even though iPhones are sold throughout the year, those who want to buy one usually do so in September. Given that It wouldn't make sense to wait any longer.because the rest of the year there are practically no sales and, as time passes, the next generation gets closer.
This is why the explosion of Apple sales in China thanks to the iPhone 16 is very clear in the graph, but In annual terms the story is different.
- Vivo is crowned the undisputed annual market leader with a 17% share.
- OPPO and Honor follow closely, at around 15% and 16%.
- The real surprise comes from Huawei, which has made a spectacular comeback with growth of 37%.
This panorama depicts an uncomfortable reality for Western brands: the Chinese market is dominated by local players who better understand the needs and preferences of their consumers. Samsung, which was once a reference in China, It doesn't even appear among the main competitors. Something that reflects how complicated it is to maintain leadership in the largest smartphone market in the world.
|
Brand |
2024 Expeditions |
Market share |
Annual variation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
live |
51.3 million |
17.0% |
+2% |
|
oppo |
47.9 million |
16.3% |
-3% |
|
honor |
45.7 million |
15.8% |
+1% |
|
apple |
42.2 million |
15.2% |
-25% |
|
Huawei |
35.4 million |
11.7% |
+37% |
The Chinese market is a unique, self-sufficient ecosystem that has little in common with the rest of the world. While In Europe or America we depend on services like Google Maps, Gmail or Instagram, the Chinese live in their own digital universe: WeChat as an all-in-one super application, Baidu for searches, Alipay and WeChat Pay for mobile payments, and Douyin (Chinese TikTok) for entertainment.
Faced with this, the main competitive advantages of Apple (or Samsung), which go through its ecosystem of services and now its AI, they lose all their appeal. Why pay the price of an iPhone when its flagship features are not available or relevant? This reality explains why local brands have such a significant competitive advantage.
The secret card: iPhone SE 4 against the world
Apple can celebrate its quarterly victory, but it faces several obstacles. On the one hand, the absence of Apple Intelligence in the Chinese market deprives them of a differentiating advantage. On the other hand, the iPhone 16 could experience a drop in sales in the coming quarters. In this context, the next iPhone SE 4 could be Apple's strategic asset to maintain its relevance in China. While Samsung is preparing its S25 family with prices starting at 909 dollars, Apple could attack with its iPhone SE 4 for only 500 dollars.
The irony of this situation is that, while in the rest of the world there is a rivalry between Apple and Samsung, in China, the battlefield has other protagonists. Huawei has shown resilience, Vivo maintains its leadership and brands like OPPO and Honor continue to grow and gain market share.
Samsung has disappeared from the rankings, a situation that Cupertino will be sure to monitor closely. The message is clear: in China, past success does not guarantee the future. The iPhone SE 4 could be your lifeline, although first we'll see how its new Galaxy S25 series performs for Samsung.
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