The iPhone has seen considerable growth in China for the past few years. According to a new report from Counterpoint Research, it has actually been the top selling smartphone in the People’s Republic of China since 2012 but the latest data shows that Apple’s smartphone as now lost its top spot. The report mentions that the iPhone has been replaced as the country’s top selling smartphone by a local challenger.
The report from Counterpoint Research mentions that Oppo sold 17 million units of the R9 in China last year so the handset accounted for 4 percent of the country’s entire smartphone market share. On the other hand, Apple only sold around 12 million units of the iPhone 6s in the country and was thus only able to capture 2 percent of the market.
Oppo’s fortunes increased in its home market last year. The company saw its shipments for the year in China rise by an impressive 106 percent while Apple’s flagship shipments declined by 21 percent compared to the same period last year.
Apple is expected to come out swinging for the fences with the iPhone 8 later this year. Since it’s going to be the 10th Anniversary iPhone, many expect that Apple is going to introduce a revolutionary smartphone in 2017 and while nothing has been confirmed about the new flagship as yet, it may help reignite growth for the company in the high-end market segment.