Apple loses number one spot as smartphone vendor in China

According to new report from an analytic firm Canalys, Apple has lost its position as the biggest smartphone seller in China. Having been overtaken by Xiaomi and Huawei, the Cupertino giant is now occupying the third place on the country’s sales charts.

The report estimates that from March through June this year, Xiaomi managed to secure 15.9 percent of the Chinese smartphone market, with Huawei following very closely with 15.7 percent of the sales. Unfortunately, the Canalys report does not state what Apple’s market share is. Samsung and Vivo come in fourth and fifth position, respectively.

However, a different analyst company, Counterpoint Research, reported that Xiaomi’s market share is 15.8 percent, Huawei’s - 15.4 percent and Apple’s – 12.2 percent.

"Competition among major brands has never been so intense", said Jingwen Wang, a Canalys analyst. "Huawei recorded the highest smartphone shipments in its history without compromising its product margin or profitability. Apple and Samsung have both increased their sales activities in the China market, expanding rapidly in channel coverage through flagship stores and small to medium size phone retailers respectively."

Source(s)