Apple’s iPhone sales surging in China, government data shows
Sales of Apple’s iPhone in China jumped over 18 per cent year-on-year in December, according to government data.
China is gearing up for the Lunar New Year in late January – a major holiday for gift-giving in the country.
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Apple shipped roughly 3.2 million handsets in China in December, up from 2.7 million a year earlier, according to data from the Chinese government and calculations by Reuters.
The tech giant offered discounts and financing schemes aimed at boosting Chinese sales throughout 2019.
In Apple’s last earnings call, chief executive Tim Cook indicated that such promotions had been successful in attracting more Chinese consumers.
After peaking in 2015, iPhone sales in China had stagnated due to factors including longer upgrade cycles and greater competition from local rivals.
Sales of Huawei phones in China have boomed while the company has come under mounting political pressure in the US.
Washington effectively banned the world’s biggest telecoms company from doing business with US companies in May, blocking its access to technology including Google’s Android operating system.
In the third quarter of 2019, Huawei accounted for 42 per cent of new phone sales in China, according to figures from research firm IDC.
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Apple is scheduled to release its next quarterly financial report in late January.
The company’s shares were trading 1.65 per cent up in morning trading in New York.