Apple's iPhone shipments are still getting squeezed in China by rising rivals

Apple's fortunes in China may be getting worse in the short term, with iPhone shipments for the second quarter reportedly down year-on-year as local rivals increase competition. According to analysis from Canalys, Apple is seeing more competition in China, and its shipments are being hurt by it. In data shared with Reuters, Apple's smartphone shipments are claimed to have dropped 6.7% in the second quarter of 2024, versus Q2 2023. By contrast, the Q2 2023 figures had Apple shipments at 10.4 million. Apple's market share in China also dropped, from 16% one year ago to 14%. This put Apple from third to sixth place in terms of smartphone shipments in China for the quarter, narrowly behind Xiaomi with 10 million shipments and a 14% share. The drop in Apple's market share is only partly down to its reduced shipments. Xiaomi rose form 12.4% to 14.8%m while Vivo managed to go from 7.9% to 9.1%. While Chinese vendors are benefiting from localized supply chains, Apple is apparently facing a bottleneck in mainland China.