3 hours Ago By Varun Godinho
Huawei’s smartphone sales came out ahead of Apple in the crucial holiday season shopping period of Q4 2024. New data from Counterpoint Research shows that Huawei took the top spot for smartphone sales in China in the final quarter of last year, followed by Xiaomi and Apple. In Q4 2024, Huawei held the top spot with an 18.
1% share. Its sales increased 15.5% year-on-year, driven by the launch of the mid-end Nova 13 series and high-end Mate 70 series.
Xiaomi in second place, ended Q4 2024 with a 17.2% market share. Its growth was fueled by its flagship Mi 15 series.
Counterpoint Research said that Xiaomi’s electric vehicle (EV) venture enhanced its overall brand image, and in turn helped boost its smartphone sales. Apple came in third during the quarter, capturing a 17.1% market share.
Counterpoint Research’s data roughly corresponds with the findings of another research firm, IDC , which noted that Chinese smartphone vendors are rapidly gaining market share in mainland China. “This past quarter was particularly remarkable for the largest Chinese smartphone vendors: Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Honor, Huawei, Lenovo, realme, Transsion, TCL, and ZTE. They achieved a historic milestone as they shipped the highest combined volume ever in a quarter, representing 56% of the global smartphone shipments in Q4,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for EMEA Client Devices, IDC.
According to Counterpoint, annually, China’s smartphone sales increased 1.5% year-on-year, compared to a 1.4% year-on-year decline in 2023.
Vivo ranked first with a market share of 17.8%, followed by Huawei (16.3%) and Xiaomi (15.
7%). One of the main stumbling blocks to Apple’s growth in China has been its inability to release its Apple Intelligence platform in the country due to local regulatory requirements. On the other hand, Chinese brands such as Huawei and Vivo, have released smartphones with AI features, and are quickly gaining market share in China.
Apple shares fell 3.2% on Tuesday, closing at its lowest since November. Tuesday saw more than A$175.
33 billion wiped off from the company’s market cap. It now has a valuation of A$5.34 trillion.
Its shares are down nearly 9% in less than three weeks since the start of trading this year. This week, Apple has been downgraded to hold at Loop Capital and cut to underperform at Jefferies, the equivalent of a sell rating on the stock, reported Bloomberg..
