Apple was dethroned as China's biggest smartphone seller in 2024, with local rivals Vivo and Huawei overtaking the iPhone maker after its annual shipments in the country declined 17%, data from research firm Canalys showed on Thursday.

Apples (NASDAQ:AAPL) smartphone shipments in China dropped 25% in Q4 2024, while Huawei experienced a 24% increase, according to Canalys. Despite the decline, Apple retained its top spot, shipping 13.

Apple has been facing a challenging landscape in China, with iPhone sales continuing to decline. Recent reports indicate that iPhone shipments in December 2024 dropped by 10–12 percent compared to the same period in 2023,

Smartphone shipments for Apple and Samsung declined in the fourth quarter globally, as they grapple with intense competition from Chinese companies including Xiaomi, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) on Monday.

Worldwide smartphone sales grew in 2024 following two consecutive years of decline according to reports from Counterpoint, Canalys, and IDC. The bulk of the growth came from Chinese manufacturers including Xiaomi and Vivo,

Apple and Samsung, the world’s top two smartphone makers, saw their global market shares decline last year, marking the first such drop in eight years since 2016. According to market researcher IDC on Jan.