China accounted for 24% of iPhone shipments in Q2 2023, surpassing the US to become the largest iPhone market
According to data analysis by global market research company TechInsights, China became the world's largest iPhone market in the second quarter, surpassing the United States for the first time in history. According to the company's "Global Shipment Report", in the second quarter of 2023, China accounted for 24% of iPhone shipments, while the US market accounted for 21%.
It is said that the sluggishness of the US smartphone market in the second quarter was caused by consumers' psychology of postponing the purchase of new phones in anticipation of the launch of new iPhones in the second half of the year. However, TechInsight stated that its results also reflect "China's growing economic strength, the burgeoning middle class, and Chinese consumers' preference for high-end phones".
It is well known that Asian consumers have always preferred large-sized smartphones, and another analysis suggests that this factor may have promoted the overall sales of the iPhone 14 Pro Max model. According to Omdia's Q2 2023 Smartphone Model Market Tracking Report, global shipments of Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max reached 26.5 million units from January to June, the largest shipment among all manufacturers. The iPhone 14 Pro ranked second with shipments of 21 million units.
Due to the downturn in the mid-to-low-end smartphone market, Chinese manufacturers' products saw a double-digit decline in 2022, and there were no Chinese manufacturers' products in the top 10 this year.
Last year, the iPhone 13 was the best-selling device on the market, indicating that consumers prefer entry-level rather than high-end devices. Since then, the market landscape seems to have changed, with successive smartphones offering incremental upgrades rather than complete changes, and consumers' increasingly listless mood prompting them to turn to higher-end models.
This trend is expected to continue, with Apple potentially reversing this situation this year by further differentiating the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro product lines. Apple is expected to not only exclusively feature the new, more powerful A17 processor on the iPhone 15 Pro, but also retain periscope zoom lens technology on the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max to distinguish higher-end models.
