Apple’s smartphone sales in China fell sharply in the final quarter of 2024, hurt by the popularity of local rivals like Huawei and others expanding into the premium market, according to a closely followed research firm.

Huawei’s smartphone sales came out ahead of Apple in the crucial holiday season shopping period of Q4 2024. New data from Counterpoint Research shows that Huawei took the top spot for smartphone sales in China in the final quarter of last year,

Huawei has reclaimed the top spot in China’s smartphone market, according to a report by Counterpoint. That’s a big milestone for the Chinese tech giant, which had been struggling in recent years due to US sanctions.

The Counterpoint Research report reveals that Apple used to have about 19 per cent market share last year. But this year, the numbers have been abysmally low for Apple.

Local smartphone makers Vivo and Huawei leapfrogged Apple to become the top two sellers in the Chinese market last year, dealing a blow to the iPhone maker as it struggles to introduce AI features on the mainland and fight competition from domestic rivals.

This secured Apple a dominant 27 per cent share of the value market in India. Interestingly, this figure also highlights Apple’s competitive edge, capturing the second-highest value share of 22 per cent in the overall Indian smartphone market, closely trailing Samsung’s 17.7 per cent.

Due to the restrictions imposed by the US trade sanctions, Huawei cannot use any Google services nor its operating system–Android.