Apple shipped around 2.5 million iPhones in China last month, rebounding slightly after one of its worst months in the country on record (via Reuters).

iphone 11 china
Apple sold fewer than 500,000 iPhones in February amid curbs on travel and transport, amounting to an almost 60 percent slump in iPhone sales.

Mobile phone companies in general are hoping to see demand recover in China, where restrictions on movement have recently eased. Many are looking to increase sales in the country as a way to cushion declines in overseas markets in the coming months.

Meanwhile, multiple third-party resellers in China have been offering discounts on Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 11 lineup in an attempt to bolster demand during a time when consumer confidence and spending is lower.

Chinese resellers offered similar discounts on ‌iPhone‌ XS and ‌iPhone‌ XR models in early 2019, shortly after Apple lowered its revenue guidance for the first quarter of its 2019 fiscal year due to fewer ‌iPhone‌ upgrades than it had anticipated.

Tag: China

Top Rated Comments

dotnet Avatar
63 months ago
A doubling of the pre-60%-slump figure (1.25M) is a slight rebound?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Charles Cohen Avatar
63 months ago
If Apple keep making money in these F'ed times they better be giving back in a big way. If people keep dying they inadvertently wont have customers.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robjulo Avatar
63 months ago
Yet that exact opposite rationale is often set forth on here when competitors cite shipment data. As though there are warehouses full of unsold Galaxy phones.


From shipping 500k to shipping 2.5 million is still a 4x increase. Stores don’t submit orders and reorders if they’re not selling product. No one wants to sit on inventory.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
63 months ago
Yet that exact opposite rationale is often set forth on here when competitors cite shipment data. As though there are warehouses full of unsold Galaxy phones.
The issue here is that different vendors interpret and report shipment data differently.

For Apple, units shipped equate units actually sold (or at least very close to it). This works because Apple tends to have more insight into their sales volume, thanks to their Apple stores and stronger relationship with retailers. Not to mention Apple controls the underlying OS, so they will know when a new device has been activated (implying it has been sold).

For Samsung, they are strong at distribution, in that they are able to quickly push out a new product to many countries in short order. However, the problem is that they often have little clue on how many of their smartphones have been bought by consumers, because they are reliant on mobile carriers for sales data.

We see this in the way Samsung kept revising their sales number of galaxy folds downwards, from 1 million, to 400-500 thousand, and I am betting the final number is probably less than 200 thousand. The reason for this is simple - Samsung simply has no idea.

So Samsung knows very well how many phones they have produced (why wouldn’t they), which equates to number shipped, but not so much about how many phones have actually been purchased by consumers. For all we know, they really could be sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

That’s the difference. The lack of a common standard when it comes to reporting units shipped. For Apple, units shipped - units sold. For Samsung, not necessarily.

These companies care Zero about anyone who posts here so why some have some kind of bizarre need to defend multi billion dollar companies...is beyond weird.
My rationale is very simple.

Right is right, even if it means I am speaking up in favour of a soulless, faceless company or somebody that I don’t like.

Wrong is wrong, even if the subject in question is my good friend.

I speak up for Apple (most of the time) not because I have some uncontrollable urge to defend a trillion-dollar company or that I am in their pocket (I can only say ‘I wish’), but because I simply feel that their arguments don’t hold water.

If your friend or family member were to share a piece of fake news via WhatsApp or try to perpetuate an erroneous piece of information (like using toothpaste to soothe a burn), you would point that out. I am just doing the same when it comes to any discussion here on Apple. Arguments are made, I happen to not agree with them based on my own understanding of how Apple works, and so I speak up.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
63 months ago

From shipping 500k to shipping 2.5 million is still a 4x increase. Stores don’t submit orders and reorders if they’re not selling product. No one wants to sit on dead inventory.
Exactly.

I love it when people think Apple just blindly ships products to stores but the stores are unable to sell them to consumers. It's as if an iPhone will sit on a shelf for months at a time.

I guess people think that iPhones end up like all those E.T. cartridges buried in the desert ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_video_game_burial').

:p
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
63 months ago

Yet that exact opposite rationale is often set forth on here when competitors cite shipment data. As though there are warehouses full of unsold Galaxy phones.
I can’t speak for other posters or any particular competitor’s practices, though some companies have been known to stuff the channel (with product that later gets rebated after being sold in “two-fer” deals).

But I haven’t seen anyone arguing about overstated android shipments for years. I do have hundreds of trolls blocked though, so I might’ve missed those posts. Feel free to link them and I’ll comment.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching This Year With These 8 New Features

Tuesday January 28, 2025 11:48 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
airpods 4 blue

Apple Finally Explains How to Install New Firmware on Your AirPods

Monday January 27, 2025 11:17 am PST by
Apple regularly releases new firmware for the AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max, but the company has historically provided limited information on how to initiate an update. That changed today, and Apple updated its AirPods firmware support page with more specific instructions. Prior to today, here's what Apple said on the subject: Firmware updates are delivered automatically while your...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

iPhone 17 Air Design, Specs, and More: All the Rumors So Far

Wednesday January 29, 2025 4:00 am PST by
This year, Apple is expected to discontinue the iPhone "Plus" device in its iPhone 17 lineup to make way for an iPhone "Air," so-called because of its thin profile. Below is a compilation of every rumor and leak we have registered from reputable sources thus far about Apple's new entry in its flagship smartphone lineup. iPhone 17 "Air"? About the Name There has been some uncertainty...
tvOS 18 Thumb 3

Apple Releases tvOS 18.3

Monday January 27, 2025 10:00 am PST by
Apple today released tvOS 18.3, the newest version of the tvOS 18 operating system that came out in September. tvOS 18.3 comes more than a month after Apple released tvOS 18.2, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and the Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.3 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

5 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's MacBook Pro

Monday January 27, 2025 4:25 am PST by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
ipad january sale

Amazon's New iPad Sale Has Up to $300 Off M4 iPad Pro, M2 iPad Air, and iPad Mini 7

Tuesday January 28, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Today we're tracking a few iPad discounts on Amazon, including the new iPad mini 7, M2 iPad Air, and M4 iPad Pro. These deals include multiple all-time low prices on Apple's tablets, matching the prices we tracked over the holiday season in many cases. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
50 New iPhone Features Apple Added Since iOS 18 1

50 iPhone Features Apple Added to iOS 18 Since September

Thursday January 30, 2025 2:41 am PST by
Since iOS 18 was released in September 2024, Apple has introduced an unprecedented number of new features and improvements across several point updates. With iOS 18.1, 18.2, and 18.3, users have seen a host of tweaks and changes designed to enhance everything from the Mail app to Camera Control on the iPhone 16. Below, we've listed 50 of the features and changes that have been rolled out...