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apple It is losing market share in China due to declining iPhone shipments, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a report on Friday. The stock fell 2.4%.
“Apple has adopted a cautious stance when discussing 2025 iPhone production plans with key suppliers,” TF Securities analyst Kuo wrote in a report. mail. He added that despite the expected launch of the new iPhone SE 4, shipments are expected to decline by 6% year-on-year in the first half of 2025.
Kuo expects Apple's market share to continue to decline, as two of the upcoming iPhones are so thin that they will likely only support eSIM, which the Chinese market is not currently promoting.
“These two models may face charging momentum challenges unless their design is modified,” he wrote.
In December, overall smartphone shipments in China were flat from a year earlier, but iPhone shipments were down 10% to 12%, Kuo wrote.
There is also “no evidence” that Apple Intelligence is on the device artificial intelligence supply, leading to hardware upgrades or service revenue, according to Kuo. He wrote that the feature “did not boost demand for iPhone replacements,” according to his supply chain survey, and added that in his view, the attractiveness of the feature “declined significantly compared to cloud-based AI services, which have advanced rapidly in subsequent months.”
Apple's estimated total iPhone shipments are about 220 million units for 2024, and between about 220 million and 225 million for this year, Kuo wrote. This is “below the market consensus of 240 million or more,” he wrote.
Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
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