Huawei wins big in Chinese 618 smartphone sales beating Apple: Report

Huawei-Apple battle to overtake Chinese smartphone sales has taken a new turn during the 618 shopping festival. The latest graphs shown by a market tracker reveal the overall growth of premium handsets in Huawei’s home ground.

Counterpoint found that Huawei won Chinese smartphone sales during the 618 Fest 2024 (Week 21- 24). The company grew by 42.4%YoY in sales due to heavy demands for its newly launched 5G devices such as the Mate 60 and Pura 70 phones.

The report says that Huawei has offered the least discounts on its products in the 618 sales, compared to its competitors. Yet it has received immense consumer support. Most Huawei devices were at the top of this list for the entire shopping fest period.

Launched in April, the Pura 70 series continued to draw the attention of users over its impressive AI features. The models also consist of tech-pack specs that led it to win the ‘high-end’ smartphone category against rivals like the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Chinese smartphone sales report for 2024 during 618 shopping festival (Image Credits: Counterpoint)

Vivo appeared as the second-best performer in this contest with a 12.6% YoY increase in its annual growth. Smartphone series like X100s, Y200, and the iQOO Neo 9s Pro helped the company to boost its sales in the 618 shopping festival.

Xiaomi is positioned in third place with the same progress rate as Vivo. A major reason is the huge discounts on its flagship (Redmi K70) and mid-range phones.

Honor has bagged the fourth spot with a 4.3% growth – thanks to the mid-rangers 200 series and the X50 model. Finally, Apple has entered the top 5 rankers with a 2.7% growth. It seems the big price cuts on iPhones helped the firm to secure fifth place.

But again, Apple struggled to reach a new height due to tough competition from Huawei and other Chinese vendors. It would be interesting to see how far this progress remains sustainable for the iPhone maker.

The report further highlights that Chinese smartphone sales grew 6.8% YoY in 2024. It’s a good sign for the native region, hinting at its recovery in the smartphone market. Counterpoint expects to see a single-digit YoY growth this year.

[Source – Counterpoint]