Apple iPhone Sales In China Picking Up Pace, Expect Continued Strength With iPhone 13 Launch, Says Analyst

Apple Inc AAPL is seeing huge demand for iPhones in China, ahead of the expected launch of a newer version sometime next month, Barron’s reported on Wednesday, citing a Morgan Stanley analyst. 

What Happened: Apple’s iPhone shipments in China in July were up 79% on a year-over-year basis, as per estimates by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.

While iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max are the most popular models in China, iPhone 11 sales remain “resilient,” the analyst said. 

The jump in July numbers far outpaced China’s own handset vendors, which saw just a 27% increase over the same period.

Apple’s share of the installed base of smartphones in China grew by 90 basis points in July to 20.7%, a 27-month high. 

The brokerage estimates that both Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies lost market share in China in July while domestic phone makers such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi saw small market share gains.

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Huberty said the demand indicates iPhone can see continued shipment strength after the launch of the new iPhone 13 model this fall.

Why It Matters: China is a key market for Apple. Sales in the region grew 58% to $14.76 billion in the quarter ended June. 

Apple reportedly shipped 7.9 million smartphones in China in the June quarter, up merely 2% from 7.7 million a year ago, according to a market research firm Canalys.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp overtook Apple in the second quarter to become the world's No. 2 smartphone maker. In China, Vivo and Oppo have the bigger smartphone market share ahead of Xiaomi and Apple, as per the latest Canalys report. 

Price Action: Apple shares closed 2.55% lower at $146.36 on Wednesday.

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