Charts of the Day: The IPhone’s Shrinking China Shipments

Apple Inc. is facing a hard time due to lackluster iPhone sales — shipments to the Chinese market have declined and its latest models have seized a smaller chunk of the global market than their predecessors.

According to industry tracker IDC, iPhone shipments in China shrunk to 41 million units in 2017, from 45 million the year before and 58 million in 2015. Shipments in the first three quarters of 2018 amounted to 24 million units, down from 26.4 million in the same period the year before.

Shipments of Huawei’s handsets, however, hit 75 million units in the first three quarters of 2018, up from 66.6 million over the same period in 2017. Shipments of Xiaomi Corp. handsets reached 42 million in the first three quarters last year, the equivalent of the 2016’s total shipment volume and up from 39.2 million in the same period of 2017.

On Jan.2, Apple cut its revenue outlook for the last quarter of 2018, citing a steeper than expected “economic deceleration” in China, fewer-than-expected upgrades to new iPhones and supply constraints for newer models of the Apple Watch, iPad Pro and AirPods. Apple’s stock had fallen 32% from an October peak to its close of $157.92 on Jan. 2 amid growing concerns about the iPhone. Its stock closed at $156.82 on Monday.

The smartphone-maker has recently become embroiled in a licensing fee dispute with another American company, Qualcomm. A court in Fuzhou, Fujian province, in December ruled Apple infringed on two Qualcomm patents, and issued injunctions against the sale of six older versions of the iPhone in China.

In the global market, Apple has also suffered from newer iPhones’ weakening sales performance. Sales of the iPhone 7 hit a peak 13 months after it launched in September 2016, accounting for nearly a fifth of global market share at the time. Sales of the iPhone 8 only account for around a tenth of global market share 16 months after it launched in September 2017.

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)