Apple’s iPhone Prospects in China Tougher Than Ever

Huawei may be struggling to deal with U.S. sanctions in many international markets, but in China its sales are surging, thanks to its smartphones’ high-end specs and rising patriotic sentiment. And that spells bad news for Apple’s hopes for its new iPhones in the Chinese market.

Until recently, the iPhone was the only luxury smartphone that could convince Chinese consumers to pay double or triple the price of most other Chinese handsets. In the first quarter of 2018, for instance, iPhones accounted for 85% of the shipments of smartphones priced at $600 or higher in China while Huawei only took up less than 6%, according to research firm Canalys. But in the second quarter of this year, iPhones accounted for 48% of that segment of the market to Huawei’s 45%, Canalys said.