Apple iPhone sales drop 5% globally after AI rollout disappoints, Chinese competition grows

Apple's global iPhone sales declined by about 5% globally during the final quarter of 2024, due to underwhelming upgrades and rising Chinese competition

Apple Inc.’s global iPhone sales declined by about 5% during the final quarter of 2024 due to underwhelming upgrades and competitors making inroads in China, Bloomberg reported.

A man checks an iPhone 16 Pro Max as the new iPhone 16 series smartphones go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China September 20, 2024. REUTERS//File Photo (Florence Lo/Reuters)

According to the report, which cited Counterpoint Research data, Apple sales declined by 2% for the entire year, while the industry grew 4%.

iPhone market share had also dropped to 18% in 2024, mostly as Chinese rivals led by Xiaomi Corp. and Vivo took over. Even Samsung was affected by this. Motorola and Honor were the fastest-growing brands.

“This past quarter was particularly remarkable for the largest Chinese smartphone vendors,” the report quoted IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo as having said in a report. “They achieved a historic milestone as they shipped the highest combined volume ever in a quarter, representing 56% of the global smartphone shipments.”

All of this comes because of Apple being in the position of only playing catch-up when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) features, while Chinese manufacturers are developing their own.

This is especially the case in China (Apple's biggest market outside the US and Europe) where Apple's suite of AI features called Apple Intelligence isn't even available.

All of this led Apple shares to decline as much as 3% to $229.72 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

Apple however, did see an increase in sales of the higher-end Pro and Pro Max models in China, accounting for more than half of its shipments there.