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Category: Featured

  • Apple: iPhone China sales slide as Huawei soars, report says

    Apple Faces 24% Decline in iPhone Sales in China as Huawei Surges: Report

    Sales of Apple’s iPhone in China dropped by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to the previous year, as reported by research firm Counterpoint. This decline is attributed to fierce competition from local rivals, with China’s Huawei experiencing a remarkable 64% increase in sales during the same period. Apple and Huawei have not provided immediate responses to the BBC’s requests for comments.

    Counterpoint Research’s Mengmeng Zhang highlighted that, besides Huawei’s resurgence in the higher-priced segment of the Chinese phone market, Apple faced challenges in the mid-range due to aggressive pricing from competitors like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. China, being one of Apple’s significant markets, witnessed an overall 7% shrinkage in smartphone sales in the same period.

    Huawei, which struggled for years due to US sanctions, saw a sales surge following the release of its Mate 60 series of 5G smartphones in August. This success was unexpected, considering the challenges Huawei faced in accessing crucial chips and technology for 5G mobile internet.

    The report revealed that Honor, the smartphone brand spun off from Huawei in 2020, was the only other top-five brand to experience sales growth in China during this period. Sales of Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo, on the other hand, declined in the first six weeks of the year.

    In terms of market share, Apple’s portion of the Chinese smartphone market dropped from 19% to 15.7% compared to the previous year, causing it to fall from the second to the fourth position. In contrast, Huawei rose to the second position, with its market share growing from 9.4% to 16.5%.

    iPhone 15 [GETTY IMAGES]
    iPhone 15 [GETTY IMAGES]

    Despite a 15% decline in sales over the last year, Vivo remained China’s top-selling smartphone maker, according to Counterpoint. To counter the decline in demand, Apple initiated discounts on its official sites in China and subsidized certain iPhone models through its flagship stores on Alibaba’s marketplace platform Tmall.

    A slowdown in demand in China poses a potential threat to Apple’s revenue, which already disappointed investors when the company released its earnings last month. In the last three months of 2023, Apple’s sales in China were $20.82 billion (£16.4 billion), down from $23.9 billion in the previous year, leading to a 2.8% decline in Apple shares in New York trade on Tuesday.

  • TikTok sparks user revolt in US over sale plan

    American politicians are receiving many calls from TikTok users who aren’t happy about plans to make its parent company sell the social media app. A bill was passed by a US congressional panel, saying TikTok must be sold within six months or it could be banned.

    TikTok sent a notification asking users to call their representative to vote against the bill. The bill will be voted on by the full House next week. It’s supported by a group of 20 lawmakers who are concerned about TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

    The bill aims to protect the US from threats by foreign-controlled apps. Lawmakers believe TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has links to the Chinese Communist Party, which ByteDance denies.

    Users of the app got a message telling them to stop a TikTok shutdown. Many people have called their representatives about this, including children.

    Tiktok [GETTY IMAGES]
    Tiktok [GETTY IMAGES]

    Under the bill, ByteDance would have to sell TikTok or it could be removed from US app stores. The bill doesn’t target individual users of the app.

    Some lawmakers think TikTok is a threat to national security because its parent company collaborates with China’s government.

    TikTok says the bill would ban the app and violate Americans’ rights. The ACLU also opposes the bill, saying it’s a political move and many people rely on TikTok.

    American lawmakers have tried to control TikTok before. The app is banned on US government devices, but President Biden’s re-election campaign has an account.

    Former President Trump tried to ban TikTok and WeChat, but it didn’t happen because of legal issues.