Apple beat out four Chinese smartphone makers to capture top position among mobile venders in China for the first time ever, according to an IDC report. The secret to Apple’s success, however, was a very un-Apple thing: discounting.
“Apple’s climb to the top spot in 2023, especially in light of renewed competition from Huawei and the soft spending sentiment, marks a tremendous success for Apple,” IDC analyst Arthur Guo said in a statement. “Apple achieved this thanks to timely price promotions in its third-party channels, which stimulated demand.”
The top smartphone vendors for 2023 were:
- Apple: 17.3% market share
- Honor: 17.1% market share
- OPPO: 16.7% market share
- Vivo: 16.5% market share
- Xiaomi: 13.2% market share
- Others: 19.1% market share
Apple achieve top spot for full year 2023 smartphone shipments despite shipments dropping by 2.2% year over year. That’s due to the overall Chinese smartphone market dropping 5% to 271.3 million units shipped. Apple’s saving grace: other smartphone vendors lost more.
Vivo lost the most, dropping 15.5%, while Honor dropped 10.3# and Xiaomi lost 8.5%. OPPO shipped 9.4% fewer phones in 2023 than it did in 2022.
The overall market slipping 5% was one factor in the drop, but another big factor is increasing competition from challenger brands in China. The “other” category that takes up almost 20% of all smartphones sold in China grew 19% year-over-year in 2023, stealing share from virtually all the top vendors except for Apple.
“Honor maintained its number two position thanks to improvement in its channel partnerships and a well-rounded product strategy, capturing the high end with its successful foldable lineup and the low-to-mid range with several popular models,” Guo said.”
Apple, of course, does not currently offer a foldable phone.
According to the IDC, the Chinese smartphone market is showing signs of recovery and a return to growth in 2024, as Q4 2023 ended 10 consecutive quarters of year-over-year decline with modest 1.2% growth. Clearly, however, that long-term trend indicates that China, like many other global markets for smartphones, is a mature market. Most people who want smartphones have them, and sales are driven by replacements rather than substantial growth of the market as a whole.
One company that grew significantly in Q4 was Huawei, returning to a top-five quarterly ranking for the first time in two years.
“This will only intensify the competition as no vendors will want to lose a top 5 position in the world’s largest smartphone market,” IDC research manager Will Wong said.
Typically Apple does not discount its products. When it does, it typically relies on adding more value, like bundling a gift card for other Apple products for free along with a full-price product. Time will tell if this strategy can continue as competition ramps up even more in 2024.
Apple also won the title of the top smartphone vendor globally in 2023.
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