It's a first for iPhone as Apple captures top spot in China

Apple captured the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market last year for the first time ever, with Huawei taking back the No. 4 position in the latest quarter, International Data Corp, or IDC, said in a report published on Thursday.

United States-based Apple became the leading smartphone company in China for the first time with a record high market share of 17.3 percent in 2023, followed by domestic giants Honor, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi, in that order, according to the researcher.

Ti Gong

China smartphone sales totaled 271.3 million units in 2023, a 5 percent year-on-year decline. It was the lowest volume in a decade, stemming from a soft economic recovery and weak consumer sentiment, IDC noted.

"A shift of power that we saw on the worldwide stage also happened in China, the largest smartphone market globally," it said in the report.

Apple also surpassed South Korea's Samsung to take the No. 1 spot in the world last year.

Apple achieved the leading position, in the fiercely competitive market, thanks to timely price promotions on its third-party channels, which stimulated demand. Meanwhile, Honor, which was spun off from Huawei, maintained its No. 2 position, thanks to improvements in its channel partnerships and a well-rounded product strategy.

"One key highlight we shouldn't miss in 4Q23 (last year's fourth quarter) was the return of Huawei to the Top 5 ranking after more than two years," said Will Wong, an IDC analyst.

"This will only intensify the competition (in 2024) as no vendors will want to lose a Top 5 position in the world's largest smartphone market."