Apple reportedly loss 50% iPhone sales in China as Huawei reclaims the lead

Apple has once again lost a huge amount of iPhone sales in China (50%) as Huawei has climbed to the top position. A new report hints that the US tech giant’s constant struggle in one of its largest markets can shift its focus to other major regions.

China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shared the new report, saying that Apple iPhone sales dropped by 50% due to strong competition from Huawei and other Chinese brands like Honor, Xiaomi, and more.

The iPhone maker witnessed this decline in March this year. While the tech giant shipped more than 3.75 million units in 2024 (same period), it has only sold 1.89 million units by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

49.6% is the exact decline percentage. The figure underlines the growing challenges for foreign products in the world’s largest smartphone market – China.

Inputs reveal that foreign brands like Apple hold only 8% in the Chinese smartphone shipment graph. It’s the half from 16% a year ago, and the credit goes to Huawei, standing in the top position with 19.4% of the market share in Q1 2025.

Vivo, Xiaomi, and OPPO follow the Pura 70 maker. Meanwhile, Apple lies in the fifth place. Huawei secured the forefront due to its self-developed Kirin chips and HarmonyOS NEXT operating system, which is full of amazing AI capabilities.

Even though the Chinese subsidy scheme on the Apple iPhone has dropped the price by $346 for the iPhone 16 series – a 15% discount. But looks like the price is still expensive for the AI-less handsets. The company is now planning to shift its focus to India.

Apple is also cutting prices on its devices in the hope of getting a sales rise due to the 618 Chinese shopping festival. Though how far these changes will help the company to fight against Huawei would be worth looking at.

Apple iPhone 16 series (Image Credits: Apple)

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