Looks like Apple's iPhone 7 didn't make much of an impact in China as Canalys, a market research firm, confirmed that the company drop to fifth place in China's smartphone market. Apple is being outshined by cheaper alternatives such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo.

According to Mac Rumors, China's total number of units sold reached 476.5 million units in 2016, which increased to 11.4 percent compared to 2015. Huawei took the top spot with 76.2 million units sold followed by Oppo with 73.2 million units and Vivo that sold 63.2 million. Xiaomi took fourth place with 51.5 million while Apple sold 43.8 million units.

However, both Xiaomi and Apple have declining sales, with Apple down seven percent in global shipments and Xiaomi's market share decreased from 15.2 percent in 2015 to 10.7 percent in 2016.

Jessie Ding, Canalys research analyst, stated that, "While Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi are all in the process of adjusting their strategies in China, Huawei took the opportunity to consolidate its position in the tier-1 and -2 cities." He also added that Hong Kong and China are the hardest-hit areas in Apple's top global markets.

So far, Apple is facing a similar scenario at the beginning of 2017 with its first quarter earnings call revealed an eight percent revenue decline in China. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, explained half of the decline is due to currency devaluation, although he remained encouraged by improvements going to the next quarter.

Analysts speculate that users' anticipation of this year's iPhone 8 contributed to Apple's decline in China with people holding off 2016's iPhone 7. This means Apple's success will depend whether its next flagship smartphone will live up to its hype.

Do you think Apple's sales will change for the better in China with the upcoming iPhone 8? Write and share your thoughts on the comments section down below.