Foreign Brand Smartphone Shipments in China's Market Doubled in November, Did iPhone Make a Comeback?

According to Reuters, based on data released by a government-affiliated research institution on Thursday, the shipment volume of foreign brand smartphones (including Apple's iPhones) in China's market increased by 128.4% compared to the same period last year.

Reuters reported that data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT, abbreviated as the Information and Communications Technology Institute) showed that the total smartphone shipments in China's market in November grew by 1.9% year-on-year, reaching 30.16 million units. Among them, the shipment volume of foreign brand smartphones reached 6.93 million units.

The increase of 128.4% is very significant. Since Apple holds an absolute dominant position among foreign brands in the Chinese market, this data is usually seen as an important signal of the recovery of demand for iPhones in China.

Compared to the sharp increase of foreign brands, the 1.9% growth of the overall market in China indicates that the growth rate of domestic brands was relatively slow in November, or they are facing fierce competition from foreign brands.

The surge in November data is largely attributed to China's largest annual e-commerce promotion season - "Singles' Day."

This November, Apple changed its usual cold attitude and offered significant trade-in subsidies and time-limited discounts through major e-commerce platforms. For price-sensitive consumers, these discounts greatly shortened the phone replacement cycle.

Although Chinese domestic foldable screen phones and imaging flagship models have been emerging one after another, in the high-end price segment above 6,000 yuan, the iPhone is still the first choice for many users. The 128.4% year-on-year increase reflects that Apple still has strong appeal among core gamers and users with ecological stickiness.

Comparison with Last Year: Strong Recovery from a Low Base

Looking back at last year's data, in November 2024, due to the macroeconomic environment in China and the concentrated efforts of domestic flagship phones (such as Huawei and Xiaomi), the performance of foreign brands fell into a trough. Therefore, the doubling growth in November this year partly comes from the "low base effect" of last year.

Analysts pointed out that the surge in November has a strong seasonal color. With the arrival of Christmas in December and the Lunar New Year in January, it remains to be observed whether the iPhone will continue to maintain popularity through the "Year-End Festival."

Source: rfi

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852528207136844/

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