The difficulties for the iPhone manufacturer, Apple, do not seem to show a sign of slowing down. According to the report of IDC Market TrackeriPhone shipments fell more than expected in the first quarter of 2024. The decline in iPhone sales and shipments is due to multiple reasons, the Cupertino giant has struggled to sustain sales in China following the launch of its latest iPhone 15 model. Furthermore, according to IDC analysts, the smartphone market recorded a strong recovery in the first quarter of 2024. The stock loses l’1,4% a 174 dollars per shareand in the Wall Street premarket after a decline 5.6% year to date.
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Apple, iPhone shipments drop
According to market tracker IDC, Apple has shipped 50.1 million iPhones in the quarter ending in March, declining by 10% on an annual basis, thus gaining second place in the world ranking of the major smartphone manufacturers. The number was also below analysts’ average estimate 51.7 million of iPhone. This is the worst drop in shipments since the Covid pandemic, which ensnared supply chains in 2022.
The rebirth of Chinese rivals Huawei e Xiaomi and Beijing’s ban on civil servants using foreign devices in the workplace have negatively impacted iPhone sales. The IDC data provides the first snapshot of the global performance of Apple’s flagship product ahead of its first-quarter earnings release on May 2.
The overview of the global smartphone market
The decline in iPhone shipments is significant given that in the March quarter, the global smartphone market recorded its best growth in years. Smartphone makers have shipped 289.4 million of devices in the first three months of 2024, up by 7.8% compared to a year ago, when many manufacturers were struggling with a glut of unsold devices.
“The smartphone market is emerging stronger and changed from the turbulence of the last two years,” he said Nabila PopalDirector of Research, IDC. “While Apple has been extremely resilient and has seen notable growth in shipments and share over the past few years, it will be a challenge to maintain the pace of growth and peak share it saw in 2023. As the market recovers further in 2024, IDC predicts that Android will grow much faster than Apple.”
Samsung Electronics regained first place in the March quarter bringing the shipment just above i 60 million units. Transsion, which owns the Tecno, Itel, and Infinix brands has recorded growth of shipments by 85% a 28,5 million units. The shipments of Xiaomiinstead, they increased 33.8% on an annual basis a 40.8 million units in the first quarter.
“Xiaomi is recovering from the sharp decline of the last two years and Transsion is becoming a stable presence in the Top 5 with aggressive growth in international markets,” said Popal.
Also according to the IDC Market Tracker, the shipments of the Chinese smartphone giant OPPO have decreased dell’8,5% a 25.2 million of units in the first quarter of 2024.