Huawei Technologies gained market share in China’s high-end smartphone market in the third quarter, closing the gap with Apple, which still leads in that category, according to the latest data from research firm Canalys.
Huawei Gains Market Share in China’s Premium Smartphone Segment
Huawei, based in Shenzhen, saw a 34% increase in shipments of premium smartphones (priced over US$600) in the September quarter compared to the previous year, giving it a 33% market share, according to a report from Canalys released on Friday.
Apple‘s iPhone shipments in China dropped by 5% in the same period, but the US tech giant still led the premium smartphone market with a 52% share.
Huawei’s strong performance in the high-end market shows the ongoing success of its return to premium 5G phones last year. This comes as China, the world’s largest smartphone market, is expected to see its first sales growth in five years in 2024.
From July to September, Huawei shipped 1.12 million foldable phones, a 97% increase from the previous year, making it the best-selling foldable brand in China, ahead of competitors like Honor, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Samsung, according to a November report by CINNO.
High demand for Huawei’s Mate XT trifold smartphone, priced at 19,999 yuan (US$2,800) for the 256GB model and in limited supply, caused many scalpers in Shenzhen to raise its price from 60,000 yuan to 70,000 yuan.
In contrast, Apple’s slight decline in shipments in the third quarter indicates weaker iPhone sales, influenced by uncertainty surrounding the launch of Apple Intelligence in China.
The demand for smartphones with artificial intelligence helped the high-end smartphone market grow by 15% globally in the third quarter, according to Canalys.
Despite this, Apple still accounted for half of the top 10 bestselling smartphones in China in the third quarter, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max leading the list. During the same period, Huawei’s Pura 70 series ranked sixth in shipments among all high-end smartphones in China.
In Canalys’ rankings of premium smartphone vendors in China last quarter, Honor had a 5% share, while Xiaomi and Samsung each had 3%, all behind Apple and Huawei.
AI-powered Smartphones Drive Global Market Growth
Globally, Apple led the high-end smartphone market with a 63% share, seeing a 10% increase in shipments, driven by the launch of Apple Intelligence in the iPhone 16 series in September.
Samsung secured the second position with a 21% global market share in the third quarter, while Huawei came in third with an 8% share, according to Canalys.
The global smartphone market is projected to grow by 6% this year, reaching 1.22 billion units in shipments. However, Canalys cautioned that growth will slow to just 1% annually after 2024, continuing until 2028.
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