Back in May, research conducted by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology revealed that demand for smartphones in the country, including iPhones, fell by more than a third in April year-over-year. However, the market is starting to recover, according to a new report.
Demand for iPhone in China beginning to recover following COVID-19 lockdowns
In a note to investors, JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee analyzed smartphone shipment data collected by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology for the month of May.
The data revealed that the smartphone market is finally beginning to recover in China following the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in the country. Now that restrictions are being eased, consumers are starting to spend more money on luxury items.
In April, smartphone shipments fell 34% in China. However, the month of May saw a significant increase in shipments. Shipments of international smartphones increased 147% month-over-month in May, a 13% year-over-year increase.
Smartphone shipments reached 4.2 million units last month, which outperformed expectations as the average number for shipments in the month of May is 3.6 million. In addition, iPhone’s market share increased from 9% in April to a whopping 20%.
Net smartphone shipments grew 15% from April to May, which is a huge uptick from the average 5% month-over-month increase and it is unlikely the smartphone market will continue seeing this much growth. The analyst warns this growth is not sustainable:
We believe that industry shipment outperformance this month could be due to lumpiness in CAICT data and reopening from lockdowns in China, and cannot be viewed as a sustainable uptick in the smartphone industry
Previously, there were concerns about how well Apple’s upcoming iPhone 14 lineup would perform in China since it is expected to heftier price tag than its predecessors. This year’s iPhones are also going to sport a 48MP rear camera system, which will most likely increase the price even further.
Despite concerns about production, Apple’s iPhone 14 lineup is on track for a September release. Based on previous industry reports, we predict that the upcoming lineup will feature a thicker design and a larger rear-camera bump. In addition, the Pro models will be powered by the next-generation A16 Bionic chip and a new pill + hole-punch camera cutout.
(via AppleInsider)
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