Beijing, March 5 – Apple’s iPhone sales in China fell 24% year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024, according to research firm Counterpoint, as the U.S. company faced increased competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei.
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Apple says iPhone sales falls 24% as Huawei’s popularity surges, report says
The U.S. tech giant’s chief competitor in China in premium smartphones, Huawei, saw unit sales rise by 64% in the period, according to the report. Apple’s share of the Chinese smartphone market dropped to 15.7%, putting it in fourth place, compared with second place in the same period of 2023 when it accounted for 19% of the market.
Huawei rose to second place as its market share expanded to 16.5% from 9.4% a year earlier. The overall smartphone market in China shrank 7%, the report said. Apple “faced stiff competition at the high end from a resurgent Huawei while getting squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi,” said Counterpoint’s senior analyst Mengmeng Zhang.
Apple began subsidizing certain iPhone models by as much as 1,300 yuan ($180.68) last week through flagship stores on Tmall, Alibaba’s major marketplace platform. It had already offered iPhone discounts of up to 500 yuan on its official sites last month. Huawei has seen a resurgence in its premium smartphone sales since it released its Mate 60 series in August after struggling for years with U.S. restrictions on the exports of key components to the company.
Honor, the smartphone brand spun off from Huawei in 2020, was the only other top-five brand to see unit sales increase during the first six weeks of the year, up 2%. Chinese brands Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo dropped 15%, 7% and 29% respectively.
AI Efforts, China To Setup Quantum Computing
Beijing, March 5 – China will formulate development plans for emerging industries including quantum computing and will continue striving towards achieving self-sufficiency in technology, according to a government work report. It will also step up efforts in big data and artificial intelligence (AI), launch an AI-plus initiative and also intends to launch a number of major science and technology programs to meet major strategic and industrial development goals, according to the report.
“We will fully leverage the strengths of the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide to raise China’s capacity for innovation across the board.” the report said. Beijing has in recent years made achieving technological self sufficiency a priority, hit hard by trade tensions with the United States which has restricted exports of chips and some other components to China.
It has said it wants to improve national security and economic resilience by nurturing domestic innovation capabilities and lessening dependence on foreign suppliers, and has increasingly emphasized the role of the government in directing resources to help achieve this goal. Since last year, the ruling Communist party has been granted more power in making tech-related policies, part of a bigger government restructuring. The country will also nurture more first-class scientists and innovation teams and improve mechanisms for identifying and nurturing top-tier innovators, the report said.
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Ukraine Says That They Have Damage Russian Black Sea Fleet Patrol Ship Near Crimea By Sea Drones
KYIV, March 5 – Ukrainian sea drones damaged a Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship off occupied Crimea, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday. The intelligence agency said on Telegram messaging app that its special unit Group 13 attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait. “As a result of a strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian ship Project 22160 Sergey Kotov sustained damage to the stern, starboard and port sides,” it said. The message added that the ship was worth about $65 million.