iPhone sales in China continued to decline for the fourth consecutive month.

China's iPhone sales have declined for four consecutive months, and a sharp decline has also been observed in all non-Chinese brands.

The outflow of foreign brand smartphones has decreased by 47% compared to the previous decade, which is why Apple made an infrequent decision to discount its current iPhone models in that country.

iPhone Sales in China

In recent years, Chinese consumers have been under government pressure to buy Chinese brands instead of iPhones. This has continued to put pressure on the mobile phone market as Himax re-entered as a premium smartphone competitor.

The pressure on Chinese consumers has persisted for several years and started with the trade war between China and the United States in 2019.

Some consumers find using iPhones in China embarrassing, according to local media reports. The trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump and export restrictions on industries other than Himax have further intensified Apple's 'Apple boycott' campaign in that country.

Apple could not compete with Huawei for years because of the ban on exporting 5G chips to China. However, Chinese brands were able to supply 5G chips in some way and regain their competition against Apple by 2023.

The iPhone did not actively respond to official discounts but secretly provided price reductions for a critical third party to convey this information to consumers. However, the company officially discounted iPhones from 2022 onwards and has implemented several discount rounds since then. The latest example is the new annual promotion starting tomorrow.

Foreign Smartphone Sales Continue to Decline

Not just the iPhone: A report based on government data cited by the news mentioned that sales of all smartphone brands in China excluding Apple continued to decline.

The outflow of foreign brand smartphones, including Apple's iPhones, to China has decreased by 47.4% compared to the previous year. This is according to data released by a government-guided research institution on Friday and continues for the fourth consecutive month […]

This decline follows a 44.25% decrease in foreign-style smartphone outflows online compared to the previous year, extending the downturn in the world's largest smartphone market.

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