Apple is leading in China: According to Counterpoint’s Market Pulse Service, smartphone sales in China declined 4% year on year in Q2 2023, marking the lowest Q2 sales total since 2014. Both internal and external macroeconomic challenges weighed on Chinese consumer mood.
Smartphone sales remained poor in April and May, but the 618 e-commerce festival offered a boost in June, resulting in a 25% MoM increase. Despite the sequential gain in June, the comparatively poor performance witnessed during the 618 sales period (June 1 to June 18), with an 8% YoY decline according to Counterpoint’s 618 Sales Period Thematic Report, resulted in a 6% YoY decline for the entire month of June.
Apple, Huawei, and realme achieved positive year-on-year growth among OEMs. Apple’s sales performance remained good, with 7% YoY increase, as its leadership in the premium segment remained unrivalled. During economic downturns, the premium category has proven to be more resilient.
Even within Apple, the more premium Pro models’ sales share increased from roughly one-third in Q2 2022 to around half in Q2 2023.
OEM sales excluding Apple fell 5.5% year on year, with all major Android OEMs except Huawei and realme reporting YoY losses. In terms of market share, vivo recaptured the lead with a 17.7% share, owing to the great performance of the Y35, Y8 and newly announced S17 series. In Q2, OPPO (including OnePlus) and Apple tied for 17.2% of the market.
Notably, OnePlus maintained its great growth momentum from Q1 2023 and achieved YoY growth of 254% in Q2 thanks to OPPO channel assistance. OnePlus, on the other hand, played an essential part in compensating for OPPO’s poor online presence by efficiently tapping into the category through its internet-centric business model.
Huawei’s smartphone sales increased 58% year on year in Q2 2023, as the company was able to restart routine product introductions this year. Huawei saw a jump in sales after resolving product shortages by leveraging its well-established brand image and strong offline footprint, particularly in top-tier cities.
Due to increased competition, HONOR and Xiaomi had their market shares decline in Q2 2023. However, HONOR has been catching up in terms of offline presence in China.
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