BEIJING, China: Market data for the first quarter of the year showed that Apple’s smartphone sales in China dropped 19 percent, the iPhone maker’s worst performance since 2020.

Meanwhile, local rival Huawei increased its share in the world’s biggest smartphone market after launching two premium phone series, the Pura 70 and the Mate 60.

According to research firm Counterpoint, Apple’s share in China’s smartphone market fell to 15.7 percent in the first quarter from 19.7 percent a year earlier, putting it almost in line with Huawei, which saw sales surge 70 percent.

Apple lost its stature as the leading smartphone seller in China, placing third behind rivals Vivo and Honor, a mass-market brand spun out of Huawei.

Huawei, whose market share jumped to 15.5 percent from 9.3 percent a year earlier, came in fourth place.

Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam said in a press release, “Huawei’s comeback has directly impacted Apple in the premium segment. Besides, the replacement demand for Apple has been slightly subdued compared to previous years.”

Being Apple’s third-biggest market, China generated around 17 percent of its total revenue in the country from October to December.

Meanwhile, separate data released earlier this month showed that amid intensifying competition by Android smartphone makers led by Samsung, Apple suffered a 10 percent decline in global smartphone deliveries in the first quarter of 2024.

In the first quarter, Samsung took the top phone maker position from Apple.

The U.S. tech giant launched campaigns in China throughout the first quarter to entice consumers with discounts, including subsidizing specific iPhone models by 1,300 yuan ($180).

After launching the Mate 60 series in August, Huawei released its Pura 70 series of high-end phones last week. The Mate 60 is considered a comeback for the Chinese company in the high-end phone market and was described as a triumph over U.S. sanctions on the company, as an advanced Chinese-made chip powers the model.