iPhone Sales Recover in China Amid Surge in Smartphone Demand

Apple's iPhone sales in China surged by 52% in April, reflecting a significant rebound driven by aggressive price cuts and renewed consumer demand, Bloomberg reports.

iphone 15 series store
The surge in shipments from 2.3 million units in April 2023 to 3.5 million units in April 2024, revealed in data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), follows a series of strategic price reductions from Apple aimed at boosting sales in the region. The ‌iPhone‌'s recovery in China is part of a broader resurgence in the smartphone market, which saw overall sales rise by 25.5% to 22.7 million units in April. The CAICT data revealed that ‌iPhone‌ sales contributed significantly to this growth.

This change comes after a challenging start to the year for Apple in China, where the company experienced a 37% slump in sales during the first two months of 2024. The recovery began in March with a 12% increase in shipments, continuing into April.

Apple's comeback strategy in China involved substantial discounts on iPhones, with price cuts reaching up to 2,300 yuan (approximately $318) on its official Tmall site. These discounts, which are double those initially offered in February, were part of an aggressive campaign to compete with local companies like Huawei.

Bloomberg noted that Apple's market share in China may soon stabilize, as consumer interest in upgrading to new ‌iPhone‌ is increasing. A recent survey indicated that more than half of Chinese consumers are willing to spend over 4,000 yuan (approximately $550) on their next phone, a significant rise from the 33% who currently use premium handsets. This trend toward "premiumization" is expected to benefit Apple just four months away from the debut of the iPhone 16 lineup.

Tag: China

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...

Top Rated Comments

peneaux Avatar
20 months ago
Who would’ve guessed demand would increase if you give a huge discount?

Now Timmy, start giving us 16GB RAM for our laptops.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sevendaymelee Avatar
20 months ago
I just don't understand how people aren't bored with smartphones, yet. When I got my first, back in 2011, it was an iphone 4s, and it absolutely blew my mind. I loved it and used it all the time for just about everything.

But that was thirteen years ago, and my current phone is still basically the same thing. It's a slab of glass. It has apps. It makes calls, sends texts, plays the same types of games--it's just a thing now, like utilities or a t-shirt. So when I still see people mindlessly obsessed with their phones, I'm always like... how?

It boggles my mind.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Retskrad Avatar
20 months ago
The popularity of smartphones continue to amaze me. It’s a device made for procrastination. Social media, YouTube, Netflix - literally everything unproductive is readily available in your pocket wherever you go and it takes no effort to waste meaningful time of your life day, in and day out. Here’s the kicker: we give smartphones companies thousands of dollars, sometimes yearly, to help us erode away our time. Are we that careless about out precious time on earth, time that we’ll never get back?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scorpio vega Avatar
20 months ago

Now give us in Japan price cuts on current models gesh!
You guys would need to stop buying iPhones in order to get massive price cuts
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blw777 Avatar
20 months ago
Why would the entire industry in China rebound by a massive 25%?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JapanApple Avatar
20 months ago
Now give us in Japan price cuts on current models gesh!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)