Following the lifting of the Covid lockdowns in major hubs Shanghai and Beijing, client interest has increased again, causing an increase in iPhone deliveries in the country.
Lifted Restrictions Resulted in High Phone Shipments
Following the lifting of Covid lockdowns, Apple Inc.'s iPhone shipments probably increased in China in June, driving a recovery in the smartphone industry.
Last month, China's mobile phone sales surged 9.2%, powered by Apple and Samsung Electronics Co. Domestic brands including Xiaomi Corp., Oppo and Vivo were down 0.5%. Samsung no longer holds a substantial part of the country's smartphone industry, while Apple is the fourth-largest player, indicating iPhones boosted demand. Later this month, the US corporation will disclose profits.
Rising expenses and waning consumer enthusiasm have hit Chinese smartphone producers this year. Sony Group Corp. warned at the start of the year that its sales of premium phone camera sensors to Chinese clients were lower than projected. Canalys said all Chinese smartphone giants witnessed second-quarter shipments fall.
Domestic companies delivered 24.5 million mobile phones in June, down from 24.6 million last year. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, international enterprises grew from 1.1 million to 3.5 million units. Feature phones are included.
The Covid lockdowns in key hubs Shanghai and Beijing were lifted, and customer interest has since picked up again. The annual "618" sales and discounts event organized by online merchants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. may also have contributed to this increase.
China issued a number of lockdown orders in several large cities in late March due to an increase in coronavirus infections. Shortly after, Foxconn, a Chinese manufacturing center where the business makes certain iPhones, iPads, and Macs, said it would halt operations there.
However, it said the Covid lockdowns in China had not negatively affected its business as anticipated.
Despite a Decline in Smartphone Sales, demand for the iPhone 13 Remains Robust
According to a Reuters article citing people inside the iPhone supply chain, demand for the iPhone 13 was still high in July. This is true despite a decline in Android smartphone sales. Additionally, this suggests much greater iPhone 14 sales in September.
According to one of the sources, sales of the iPhone 13 increased by a third in July compared to the same month last year. Since iPhone sales typically decline in July and August, the trend is odd. Given the state of the economy right now, it is even stranger.
Inflation and recessionary fears have reduced Android smartphone demand. According to Counterpoint Research data, sales in China declined by 10% from April to May. For the country, it is noteworthy that the figure reached 96 million. Only the second time in more than a decade did monthly smartphone sales fall below 100 million.
Reuters said, quoting Cowen analyst Krish Sankar, that the iPhone fared much better in China when the lockout was lifted.
Recently, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted on Twitter that China's demand for the iPhone 14 would surpass that of the iPhone 13 this year. The renowned expert based his judgments on anecdotal information from resellers in the nation getting ready to launch iPhone 14 sales.
According to the source, Apple has also provided suppliers with a larger initial shipment prediction for the iPhone 14 than it did for the iPhone 13 from the previous year. This shows that Apple anticipates considerable demand for the iPhone 14 at launch.
