During China’s recent Singles Day shopping festival, Apple experienced a 4% decline in the number of smartphones sold, according to data from Counterpoint Research. In contrast, Huawei and Xiaomi saw significant increases, with Huawei’s units sold growing by 66% and Xiaomi’s by 28% year-on-year during the two-week sales period from Oct. 30 to Nov. 12. The overall number of Chinese smartphones sold during the promotional period increased by 5% year-on-year, driven by the strong performance of Huawei and Xiaomi.
The price disparity among the latest smartphone models contributed to the varying sales performances. Apple’s iPhone 15 starts at 5,999 yuan ($832), while Huawei’s Mate 60 begins at 5,499 yuan ($763), and Xiaomi’s Mi 14 is priced from 3,999 yuan ($555).
China’s e-commerce platforms, such as Alibaba and JD.com, did not disclose specific sales figures for the Singles Day festival, but JD.com noted that the transaction volume of Apple products exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion) on its platform during the period. Xiaomi reported a cumulative gross merchandise value of over 22.4 billion yuan during the shopping extravaganza.
Analysts suggest that the Chinese smartphone market is poised for a rebound, with expectations of year-on-year sales growth in the fourth quarter, following ten consecutive quarters of declining shipments. Despite facing competition from domestic rivals, Apple’s sluggish performance is also attributed to supply chain issues impacting the availability of its new iPhone 15 models. While improvements are noted compared to the previous month, supply chain challenges are expected to normalize soon.
