(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc.’s iPhone rebounded in China last month, helping to boost shipments by 52% as a wave of price cuts from retail partners helped the company boost sales.
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The latest data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shows that domestic smartphone shipments are surging, with about 3.5 million of those coming from foreign makers, according to Bloomberg calculations. iPhones make up the majority of those devices, which bounced back to record growth in March after a sharp decline in the first two months of the year.
Apple and its Chinese resellers have been slashing prices since the start of 2024, with the deals set to continue through the sales season that accompanies the country’s June 18 shopping festival. The Cupertino, California-based company has lost luxury market share to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and seen sales of its latest generation of phones fall by double digits.
“This growth reflects two things: Apple is gearing up for its 618 online shopping festival, as evidenced by recent price cuts,” said Will Wong, an analyst at industry research firm IDC. “Resilient high-end users are showing signs of buying better mobile devices to last longer, which will lead to longer replacement cycles.”
April is traditionally a slow month for iPhone makers, so small changes in purchases can translate into big swings. A Bloomberg Intelligence poll of Chinese consumers earlier this month showed the iPhone was back as the most preferred mobile device and that they were increasingly interested in upgrading to a new device.
“The latest survey shows that Apple has returned as Chinese consumers’ favorite smartphone brand after being displaced by Huawei, suggesting that iPhone’s shrinking market share in China may soon stabilise,” analysts Steven Tseng and Sean Chen wrote.
“The reversal in user interest can be attributed to the trend towards premiumization in China,” they wrote. “More than half of survey respondents said they would be willing to spend more than 4,000 yuan ($550) on their next phone, while only 33% currently use a premium device.”
–With assistance from Debby Wu.
(Updates with IDC analyst comments)
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