Report

Apple’s China Woes: How Apple Lost Share In The Biggest Smartphone Market

February 24, 2025

Overview:

Apple, historically a dominant player in China’s premium smartphone market, has faced increasing challenges in retaining its market share. This report analyzes the factors contributing to Apple’s recent share loss and identifies competitive threats from Chinese OEMs. It examines which products are at the root of this decline, where Apple has failed to meet market demands, whether the delayed launch of Apple Intelligence in China has affected its performance, and how local competitors are disrupting the iOS ecosystem.

Table of Contents:

Apple’s Woes In Its Second Biggest Market
A Deep Dive Into Apple’s Portfolio - Which Part Has Gone Wrong?
What’s Changed?
Not Just Huawei; Xiaomi Has Made Significant In-Roads
Disrupting Apple's Moat: How Chinese OEMs Are Bridging the Gap
Has Slow Generative AI Adoption Been A Major Issue?
Conclusion

Number of Pages: 18

Published Date: February 2025

Receive our insightful weekly newsletter and stay ahead of the competition.

Author

Archie Zhang

Archie Zhang is a Beijing-based research analyst specializing in the smartphone market. Formerly an award-winning Financial Times journalist covering China’s tech sector, Archie brings a unique blend of industry insight and storytelling expertise to market analysis.

Peter Richardson

Peter has 27 years experience in the mobile industry with extensive experience in market analysis and corporate development. Most recently Peter was Global Head of Market and Competitive Intelligence at Nokia. Here he headed a team responsible for analyzing and quantifying the industry. Prior to Nokia, Peter was an equity analyst at SoundView Technology Group. And before that he was VP and Chief Analyst of mobile and wireless research at Gartner. Peter’s early years in the industry were spent with NEC and Panasonic.