Apple's iPhone shipments in China tumbled in the first quarter as local rivals Huawei, Oppo and Vivo increased their share of the world's largest smartphone market.
Market research firm IDC reported Thursday that Apple's smartphone shipments in China fell 26.7% year over year to 9.6 million units during the period. Apple's market share there dipped to 9.2% in the first quarter from 11% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 12.7% in last year's first quarter, IDC said.
Apple is in fourth place in the China smartphone market. Huawei overtook Oppo for the No. 1 spot in the market in the first quarter, IDC said. Huawei grabbed 20% market share during the quarter, followed by Oppo with 18.2% and Vivo with 14.1%.
Huawei posted the fastest growth, with smartphone unit shipments in China up 25.5% year over year in the first quarter. By comparison, Oppo smartphone shipments rose 19.5% and Vivo smartphone shipments rose 7.6%.
The fifth-largest smartphone vendor in China is Xiaomi, another local vendor, with 9% market share during the first quarter.
But smartphone shipments overall in China rose just 0.8% year over year to 104.1 million units, IDC said. IDC chalked up the slow growth to high inventories from the previous quarter and a relatively quiet period for new handset launches.
"Despite a soft first quarter in China, the second quarter should pick up sequentially given not only JD.com's (JD) June promotions, but also activity around a number of new products," IDC analyst Tay Xiaohan said in a statement.
Apple has posted double-digit, year-over-year declines in China smartphone shipments for five straight quarters, she said. But Chinese consumers could be holding out for the Apple's 10th-anniversary smartphone, the iPhone 8, expected later this year, she said.
Apple acknowledged its struggles in China in its fiscal second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday.
Apple's sales in Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, fell 14% year over year to $10.73 billion in the company's fiscal second quarter ended April 1. Apple's total sales rose 5% to $52.90 billion during that period.
Apple shares fell 0.4% to 146.53 in the stock market today. The stock fell 0.3% on Wednesday following its mixed earnings report, but closed near session highs.
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