Apple's iPhones hit the comeback trail

The number of smartphone sold in China rose by 25.5 percent to 22.7 million units last month, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.

Among them, Apple's smartphone shipments in China rose 52 percent in April from a year ago amid a flurry of discounts from retail partners.

Apple and its Chinese resellers have been cutting prices since the start of 2024, and those deals are extending into the sale season that accompanies the June 18th shopping festival in the mainland. California-based Apple had seen double-digit declines in sales of its latest generation of handsets, as it lost premium market share to Huawei Technologies.

"The growth reflects two things: Apple was preparing for the 618 online shopping festival, which we could see from its recent price discounts," said Will Wong, an analyst at industry tracker IDC. "The resilient high-end users showed signs of buying better mobile devices to use for a longer time, which in turn will lead to longer replacement cycles."

April is traditionally a low-volume month for the iPhone maker and so small changes in purchases can result in large swings. Earlier this month, a Bloomberg poll of consumers in China showed the iPhone returning as the most favored mobile device and an uptick in interest in upgrading to new devices.

Agencies