Strategy Analytics reports a 22% drop in iPhone shipments in China in Q4, Huawei leads
Today Strategy Analytics came out with a report at the state of things of the smartphone industry in Q4 2018 in China. Judging by the information provided, there was an 11% drop in China smartphone shipments year-over-year, while Apple estimated its shipments decrease at approximately 3 million units in the same period.
The Strategy Analytics report informs that smartphone shipments reached 107.9 million units in Q4 2018, a notable drop from 121.3 million units in Q4 the previous year. Meanwhile, in the entire 2018, shipments within China dropped to 408.5 million units from 459.6 million units.
In particular, Apple saw shipments drop 3.1 million units to 10.9 million units during Q4 2018 compared to Q4 2017. For the entire 2018, iPhone shipments went down from 36.7 million units in 2017 to 34.2 million units last year.
As far as the Q4 reports, Strategy Analytics claims the iPhone has experienced a year-over-year decrease in China for as many as 8 of the past 12 quarters to date. Linda Sui, the director of Strategy Analytics shared that 2018 was the worst performance since the beginning of 2017, with a 22%. Apple has, in fact, been under significant pressure in China for as long as the three years. The company has been seriously distracted by the continuous patent-related battles with Qualcomm. Apple’s steep price tag is also a distraction, and iPhones may actually be priced out of China.
The share held by Apple in Q4 2018 is 10.1%, slightly ahead of Xiaomi with its 9.3%. As far as the entire 2018, there was a slight increase in Apple’s market share, from 8.0% in 2017 to 8.4% in 2018.
Huawei is doing extremely well in China, its market share up to an impressive 27.8% last quarter, from 20% at the same time in the previous year, Company annual shipments in China went up to 23%. Strategy Analytics CEO Neil Mawston reported that Huawei’s numbers were beating records with 30 million smartphone units and a 28% market share last quarter. Huawei showed incredible growth with 23% annual growth and has emerged as an apparent market leader. Its top-quality product line, recognized brand and well-developed retail channels all contribute to its success.
On January 29, 2019, Apple will hold an earnings call for the holiday quarter.
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