Sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, plummeted by 44.25% year-on-year in October, according to new data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology released on Wednesday.
The research revealed that foreign smartphone sales in China dropped to 6.22 million units last month, down from 11.149 million units in October 2023. As the leading foreign smartphone manufacturer in China, Apple’s performance has a significant impact on the overall decline in foreign phone sales.
Apple, which launched its iPhone 16 models in September, has yet to unveil the widely anticipated AI feature for the Chinese market, which is expected to be available next year.
The company has also not announced a local AI partner for the Chinese market, further adding to the uncertainty.
Despite the sharp drop in foreign-brand sales, overall smartphone sales in China increased by 1.8% to 29.67 million units in October, indicating continued demand in the domestic market.
