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Huawei’s Mate 60 5G smartphone drives Singles’ Day demand, outshining iPhone 15

  • Huawei’s volume surged 66 per cent during the two-week period of Singles’ Day, while Apple saw a 4 per cent decline, according to Counterpoint
  • Apple still led smartphone vendors in terms of overall sales in China for the period, followed by Xiaomi, Honor and Huawei

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A woman compares the iPhone 15 Pro and Huawei Technologies' Mate 60 Pro at an Apple Store in Shanghai on September 22, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Iris Dengin Shenzhen
China’s smartphone market saw a 5 per cent bump in sales volume during the country’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, driven by demand for handsets from local tech champion Huawei Technologies, while Apple saw a dip in the number of iPhones sold during the campaign.
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Huawei’s volume surged 66 per cent during the two-week sales period of Singles’ Day, China’s biggest annual shopping extravaganza that ran from late October through November 11, while Apple saw a 4 per cent decline, according to a report by Counterpoint Research on Friday.

The recent launch of Huawei’s Mate 60 series 5G phones, as well as the popularity of its older 4G models, helped boost the company’s sales, but the stellar growth rate was measured against a low base in 2022 when Covid restrictions were still in place in China, Counterpoint analyst Archie Zhang noted.

“We expect it will grow by more than half this year, but that still doesn’t bring them close to pre-Covid levels. But it is signalling a promising 2024,” Zhang said.

Local rival Xiaomi recorded a 28 per cent rise in the number of handsets sold during the sales period, while Huawei’s spin-off brand Honor posted 11 per cent growth during the period.

However, Apple still led smartphone makers in terms of overall market share, followed by Xiaomi and Honor. Huawei ranked fourth on the back of its strong growth.

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The sales figures for Singles’ Day will boost confidence for positive fourth quarter results, Counterpoint said, as they followed a strong performance by Huawei, Xiaomi and Honor in October.

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