Since the beginning of this year, Apple has been constantly troubled by the weakening of iPhone innovation, stagnation in the generative AI track, and sudden shelving of a decade long electric vehicle project, all of which have raised concerns about Apple from the outside world. The bigger hidden concern is the sustained decline in sales of its pillar industry, smartphones.
The latest data released by market research firm Counterpoint Research shows that Apple's iPhone sales in China decreased by 24% year-on-year in the first six weeks of this year. On the contrary, the sales volume of Chinese domestic mobile phone brand Huawei increased by 64% year-on-year. The iPhone faces competition from Huawei phones in the high-end market, and is squeezed by aggressive pricing from companies such as OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi in the mid-range phone market.
"With the popularization of AI and 5G technology and the increasing urgency of local mobile phone brands to explore the high-end market, the competition in the Chinese mobile phone market has entered a new stage. Chinese local brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Apple are competing comprehensively in terms of technological innovation, market share, and brand influence." Associate Professor Liu Chunsheng of Central University of Finance and Economics said in an interview with Securities Daily.
Transformation of the competitive landscape in the Chinese mobile phone market
Industry insiders generally expect that due to market competition, Apple's annual smartphone shipments may experience a double-digit decline this year. Guo Minggui, an analyst at Tianfeng International, stated that the market consensus for iPhone shipments in 2024 was between 220 million and 225 million units. The revision has now begun and is approaching 200 million units.
Behind this phenomenon, Chinese mobile phone brands are making efforts in the foldable screen and AI mobile phone market, collaborating on innovation in software and hardware ecosystems such as hinges and operating systems, accelerating their impact from the mid to low end market to the high-end market. On the one hand, the mobile phone brands in the Android camp have continuously made breakthroughs in technology, design, and other aspects, providing a product experience comparable to that of Apple. On the other hand, Huawei's strong return has gained market recognition. Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, realme, and other major players in the mid to low end mobile phone market are also actively seizing high-end market share, posing a certain degree of competitive pressure on Apple.
At the same time, under the influence of technologies such as AI, Chinese mobile phone brands are accelerating their gear shifting. Many domestic brands have made significant progress in new technologies such as AI, 5G, and foldable screens, improving product competitiveness and strengthening the construction of AI ecological brands, channels, and overseas market expansion, enhancing overall strength.
"The introduction of AI technology has provided new impetus and direction for the development of the mobile phone industry. In the next five years, the impact of AI on the mobile phone industry will be comparable to a historic leap in replacing feature phones with smartphones. Domestic manufacturers need to seize market opportunities. With the continuous contraction of Apple's sales and the accelerated upgrading of the industry brought about by domestic mobile phone technology innovation, the Chinese market pattern will undergo another change." Pan Jun, a visiting professor at Donghua University, told Securities Daily.
In his view, mobile phone brands need to seek a balance between promotional activities and brand building. Overly aggressive promotional strategies are not a long-term solution, and domestic brands should be driven by innovation and led by new quality productivity to promote China's mobile phone industry towards the high-end of the global value chain.
Fruit Chain Enterprises "Start a New Era"
Faced with the instability of Apple sales and supply chain stocking, Liu Chunsheng believes that domestic fruit chain enterprises need to be fully prepared to cope with the challenges brought by market changes.
Listed companies in the Apple industry chain, represented by Lixun Precision and Lansi Technology, have realized the importance of taking the initiative and are intensifying their efforts in the field of new energy vehicles. For example, on March 5th, Lixun Precision signed a contract with Anhui for the automotive electronics industry park project with a total investment of 1 billion yuan. In addition, Oufeiguang, which has detached from the fruit chain, has transformed from a fruit chain enterprise into a "Hualian", supplying camera modules, fingerprint recognition modules, etc. for domestic brand smartphones such as Huawei, and achieving profitability.
Lin Xianping, Secretary General of the Cultural and Creative Research Institute of Zhejiang University City College, told Securities Daily that under the increasingly low profits and unstable supply chain, Apple supply chain enterprises are more likely to fall into difficulties if they do not take the initiative. Enterprises also need to master independent and controllable technologies, form intellectual property barriers, and achieve high value-added production.
"Faced with the complex and ever-changing market environment and competitive landscape, mobile phone industry chain enterprises need to maintain sharp market insight and adaptability, reduce dependence on a single market risk, strengthen the stability and flexibility of the supply chain, improve production efficiency and cost control capabilities, in order to cope with future challenges and opportunities." said Yuan Shuai, Executive Director of the High Quality Development Promotion Project for Specialized and Innovative Enterprises.