Huawei Roars Back in China, Closing the Gap with Apple in World’s Largest Smartphone Market

Beijing customers were eager to purchase new Huawei Pura 70 series smartphones as they went on sale at Huawei’s flagship store on April 18, 2024. The excitement was palpable as the Shenzhen-based company made a roaring comeback in China and was inching closer to overtaking Apple in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Huawei saw a remarkable 70% surge in smartphone sales in China in the first quarter, while Apple experienced a decline of more than 19%. Ivan Lam, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint, pointed out that Apple’s sales were subdued due to Huawei’s resurgence impacting the premium segment.

Apple has now slipped to the third spot in the first quarter of this year with a market share of 15.7%, while Huawei’s market share has spiked to 15.5% from 9.3% in the previous year. This is largely due to Chinese consumers increasingly turning to local brands over foreign ones, given their concerns about national security and access to foreign chip technology.

Huawei created a buzz with its Mate 60 Pro smartphone last year, especially when the US government sought more information about its advanced processor. This raised eyebrows among industry experts, given the restrictions imposed by the US to limit China’s access to foreign chip technology due to national security concerns. However, recent data from IDC indicated that Apple’s global smartphone sales had plummeted by 10% in the first quarter, largely due to waning momentum in China.

Despite these challenges, local brands like Vivo and Honor dominated the Chinese smartphone market, reflecting Huawei’s resurgence and Apple’s struggles to maintain its foothold in the competitive landscape.