During China’s renowned Singles’ Day shopping festival, the country’s smartphone market witnessed a noteworthy 5% increase in sales volume. This surge was predominantly fueled by a strong demand for handsets from local tech giant Huawei Technologies. In contrast, Apple experienced a slight decline in iPhone sales during the same period.
Huawei’s sales volume rocketed by 66% over the two-week duration of Singles’ Day, which spans from late October to November 11. The impressive growth can be partly attributed to the recent launch of the Huawei Mate 60 series 5G phones and the continued popularity of its older 4G models. Despite this considerable growth, analyst Archie Zhang from Counterpoint Research highlights that the increase is measured against a lower base in 2022 when COVID-19 restrictions impacted China significantly. “While the growth is promising, it does not yet match pre-pandemic levels. However, it does signal a positive outlook for 2024,” Zhang commented.
Xiaomi, another prominent local brand, recorded a 28% increase in handset sales during the Singles’ Day event, while Honor, a brand spun off from Huawei, posted an 11% growth. Even with these gains, Apple maintained its position as the market leader in terms of overall market share, closely followed by Xiaomi and Honor, with Huawei ranking fourth due to its robust growth.
The Singles’ Day sales data is a positive indicator for the fourth quarter, following the strong performance of Huawei, Xiaomi, and Honor in October. The successful launch of Huawei’s Mate 60 series, featuring the advanced Kirin 9000s processor, has been a major highlight in the Chinese smartphone market, which experienced a smaller decline in overall sales in the third quarter. Since its release in August, the Mate 60 series has achieved 2.4 million units in domestic sales, as per earlier Counterpoint data.
To meet the soaring demand for its new 5G smartphones, Huawei has ramped up production and introduced a subscription program for the Mate 60 Pro model, promising a maximum wait time of 90 days. Apple, in comparison, faced supply chain challenges despite an uptick in sales during the Singles’ Day campaign.
Xiaomi’s latest model, Xiaomi 14, launched last month, has further intensified the competition, particularly with Apple and Huawei. Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO, revealed that the Xiaomi 14 reached over 1 million unit sales within two weeks of its launch, leading to a significant supply shortage.
The competitive landscape was further stirred as Apple’s iPhone 15 series saw unusual discounts on Chinese e-commerce platforms leading up to the November 11 sales event. This move marked a departure from Apple’s typical strategy of maintaining strict control over its product pricing.
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