The global smartphone market will actually see some jaw-dropping changes in 2024, as Apple's reign ends in China finally; Vivo and Huawei dominate the competition.

It seems that there are signs that Apple could not achieve even the silver medal—local smartphone makers outpaced the Cupertino tech giant in an instant.

Vivo and Huawei's Surprising Growth in China

Apple Gets Schooled: Vivo & Huawei Snatch Smartphone Crown in

The Chinese smartphone market witnessed a dramatic change when in 2024, Vivo and Huawei emerged as leaders of the market. In the year 2023, Apple had taken the top spot in the same market. Vivo, a consistently strong contender, took the top spot, while Huawei has been nothing short of spectacular in its resurgence, a Canalys report says.

Huawei, in particular, displayed impressive growth, with a remarkable 37 percent increase in sales, skyrocketing from 33.5 million units to 46 million units in just one year. This growth significantly outpaced Vivo's own 11 percent increase, proving that the Chinese brand is reclaiming its market share after years of setbacks.

Apple Struggles as iPhone Sales Drop

In contrast, Vivo and Huawei made massive strides but Apple fell in China, Phone Arena reports. Its sales bottomed out sharply, and the brand witnessed the greatest decline among its peers. Now that the iPhone 16 series has failed to deliver the desired results, it has become increasingly difficult for Apple to regain its lost ground in China.

Despite a great show in Q4 2024 with 13.1 million units sold, Apple was in neck and neck competition with Vivo and Huawei. Those two managed to almost equal Apple's market share, indicating the fact that its iPhones are increasingly facing a more sophisticated form of domestic competition.

Domestic Competitors Are Slowly Coming to Apple

The growth of both Vivo and Huawei is enhanced by the expansion of domestic rivals including Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi. Oppo and Honor did not take the first two positions. However, both brands are well poised to become competitive with Apple over the years if they do so.

Honor, for instance, has been concentrating on flagship devices of good quality at affordable prices, which is a great strength in the market. Xiaomi, which has always done well, was also a strong contender, having had four consecutive quarters of market share growth in 2024.

Market Growth and Consumer Trends in 2024

Even as Apple faced problems, the overall shipments in the Chinese smartphone market went up 4 percent year-on-year. The "others" category, including small and emerging brands, saw a massive increase that helped the market reach a total of 284.6 million units shipped. Although this growth is not sizeable, it suggests that the market is stabilizing after two years of decline.

It also includes several contributing factors such as innovation in AI technology, rising demand for premium designs and products, and breakthroughs in the foldable smartphone market. These trends would shape the Chinese smartphone industry for the future ahead, with players like Huawei and Vivo leading the pack.

Apple Needs to Change its Strategy in China

Although it has continued the fight with the leading charge on the horizon through Vivo and Huawei, Apple can hardly see itself in the immediate future in the Chinese market.

Delay in rolling out the foldable iPhone or the budget series with iPhone SE 4 could well have contributed to its share being eroded to a level, where regaining its lost sheen would necessitate an attuned strategy meeting the needs and wants of consumers in China.