A new market intelligence report suggests that the iPhone 17 lineup is selling incredibly well in China, despite this being a somewhat tricky market for Apple.
It reveals that one in every four smartphones sold in China during October was an iPhone, and that total sales beat the previous record set back in 2021 …
Apple’s relationship with China is a tricky one. Despite moves to diversify production to India, Thailand and elsewhere, the company is still massively dependent on the country as its primary manufacturing hub. That has forced the company to compromise its values in a number of ways, from removing VPN apps from the Chinese App Store to allowing iCloud data to be stored on a server owned by a company associated with the Chinese government.
The Cupertino company’s problems in China don’t end with manufacturing – the government has at times pressured its citizens to buy Chinese brands over iPhones, threatening one of its largest markets. Additionally, iPhone apps don’t have the appeal they do in other countries.
Despite this, however, Counterpoint Research has some very good news for the company. Its latest market intelligence report suggests that while the Chinese smartphone market as a whole grew 8% year-on-year in October, iPhone sales grew 37%.
Apple accounted for one in every four smartphones sold in China during October, growing 37% YoY, driven by the iPhone 17 series. All three iPhone 17 variants saw mid-to-high double-digit growth rates in October compared to the iPhone 16 series, with the base model continuing to grow fastest […] It is the best ever start to a December quarter for Apple, with total sell-through far surpassing its previous peak in October 2021. One in four smartphones sold in China during October was an iPhone – a milestone hit only once before, in 2022, when Apple had fewer rivals in the premium segment.
This 25% market share saw Apple dominate smartphone sales last month, with the second and third placed brands accounting for just 16% (Mi) and 17% (Vivo) each. The company appears to have been particularly successful in persuading Huawei buyers to switch, the Chinese company seeing its own sales fall 19% year on year.
Counterpoint said that all three iPhone 17 models saw double-digit growth, though the base model was the best-selling one.
The report doesn’t reveal anything about sales of the iPhone Air.
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