Apple Inc’s iPhone shipments stabilized in the June quarter as the wider smartphone market accelerated its growth, independent research showed.
Global smartphone shipments rose 6.5 percent year-on-year, International Data Corp (IDC) said, while Counterpoint Research figures showed that sales to consumers increased 6 percent.
Aggressive discounts around China’s “618” shopping festival helped entice consumers in the world’s biggest mobile market, where Xiaomi Corp (小米) and a resurgent Huawei Technologies Co (華為) have been making inroads this year.
Photo: Bloomberg
The new research adds to data from Chinese authorities showing the iPhone staging a recovery since March.
Apple shipped 45.2 million handsets in the second quarter, a 1.5 percent improvement from the same period a year earlier, IDC said.
Counterpoint’s figures, which address end-user sales, showed a 1 percent decline, and both research groups found the iPhone giving up market share.
Xiaomi was the biggest riser, largely powered by entry-level handsets and emerging markets.
The iPhone has been under pressure in China from local players as well as a government ban on foreign devices at state-run workplaces.
Discounts and the promise of new artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements has helped steady sales for Apple and market leader Samsung Electronics Co, which is also promoting a new generation of phones with AI additions.
“Apple’s momentum in Q2 improved significantly from the negative growth they saw in first quarter,” IDC research director Nabila Popal said. “This is in part due to heavy discounts and promotions in many regions, but also thanks to renewed customer confidence after WWDC [Worldwide Developers Conference] when Apple finally announced its AI strategy.”
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