Key Points
- Apple’s iPhone sales grew 15% globally in April and May, marking the strongest growth since the pandemic began.
- Apple reclaimed the No. 1 spot in China’s smartphone market in May, according to Counterpoint Research.
- Rebounds in the U.S. and China drove sales growth. Significant sales increases were also reported in Japan, India, and the Middle East.
- Apple applied aggressive price cuts in China, offering up to $351 off iPhone 16 models to stay competitive.
Apple regained the top spot in China’s smartphone market in May, driven by a strong global rebound in iPhone sales. according to preliminary data from Counterpoint Research, Apple’s iPhone sales jumped 15% year-over-year during April and May, marking its most successful two-month period since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
This significant surge was fueled by renewed growth in Apple’s two largest markets: the United States and China. These two regions remain crucial to Apple’s performance, and even slight swings can significantly impact the company’s quarterly results. Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, commented, “Q2 iPhone performance looks promising at the moment, but as always, swings either way are dictated by two markets — the U.S. and China.”
Further bolstering Apple’s position, the company saw double-digit increases in iPhone sales in several key regions, including Japan, India, and the Middle East. Part of the growth, analysts noted, can be attributed to consumers seeking to avoid tariffs, which favored Apple’s pricing strategy in multiple markets.
In China, a country where Apple has recently been facing intense competition from domestic brands like Huawei and Xiaomi, the tech giant has taken aggressive steps to retain its market share. Apple has introduced significant price cuts to its latest iPhone 16 models, with discounts reaching as high as 2,530 yuan (approximately $351) on Chinese e-commerce platforms in May.
Despite stiff local competition and geopolitical pressure, Apple’s resilience and pricing strategies appear to be paying off. Government data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology indicated that shipments of foreign-branded phones in China rose slightly from 3.50 million units in April 2023 to 3.52 million in April 2024.
Apple’s performance this quarter is setting a positive tone for the company, suggesting strong momentum heading into the second half of the year—especially if it can continue leveraging competitive pricing and maintain its strongholds in the U.S. and China.