Chinese tech firm Huawei regained the lead in China’s smartphone market during the second quarter of the year, according to data from Canalys. In fact, the company shipped 12.2 million smartphones, which was up 15% from a year earlier and equated to an 18% market share. Interestingly, this is Huawei’s first time in the top spot since early 2024. Meanwhile, tech giant Apple (AAPL) saw its shipments rise by 4% to 10.1 million units for a fifth-place finish. This was good news because it was Apple’s first time seeing growth in China since the fourth quarter of 2023.
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Apple’s growth this quarter has been linked to strategic price adjustments for the iPhone 16 series, which included higher trade-in values and discounts offered by Chinese e-commerce platforms. These moves helped Apple regain momentum after months of declining market share. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that competition in China’s smartphone market remains intense. Indeed, Huawei has been rolling out new models aggressively and expanding HarmonyOS 5, which is its self-developed operating system that competes with Google’s (GOOGL) Android and Apple’s iOS.
At the same time, Apple is facing geopolitical challenges, such as President Trump’s push for the company to manufacture iPhones in the United States. However, this seems unlikely to happen since it could push the price of iPhones to over $3,000, according to analysts. As a result, as Apple prepares to announce its earnings results on July 31, investors will be closely watching for any updates to its strategy in China.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $229.11 per share implies 6.8% upside potential.
