iPhone 15 Sales Trail Predecessor in China

Chinese consumers are reportedly less enthusiastic about the iPhone 15 than the iPhone 14.

Separate analyses, shared in a report Monday (Oct. 16) by Bloomberg News, show that sales of Apple’s most popular product trail those of its predecessor, a sign of both lukewarm consumption and competition from companies like Huawei.

According to the report, data from Counterpoint Research provided to Bloomberg showed iPhone 15 sales down 4.5% compared with the iPhone 14 in the first 17 days after release.

And Jefferies analysts estimated sales of the iPhone 15 were down by an even larger, double-digit percentage after Huawei outsold Apple with its Mate 60 Pro device.

The launch of the iPhone followed the debut of that phone, and came amid reports that the Chinese government was instituting a ban on iPhone use by government agencies and state-run businesses.

While it’s not clear how far-reaching the ban would be, China’s state-owned companies include PetroChina, an oil company that employs millions of people. It also threatens a market that gives Apple roughly 20% of its revenue (and in a country where most of the world’s iPhones are made).

As PYMNTS reported earlier this year, Apple saw sales of $15.8 billion in the greater China region in its most recent quarter, up 7.9%.

“The U.S. is hot right now with back-to-back stellar weekends for the new iPhone,” said Counterpoint research director Jeff Fieldhack, per Bloomberg.

“It’s a positive sign from the biggest iPhone market in the world. So definitely takes some of the sting off the China numbers.”

The news follows reports from last week that the iPhone was still the mobile device of choice for nearly 9 out of 10 teenagers.

Eighty-seven percent of teens own an iPhone, while 88% of teens say they plan to have one as their next mobile device, investment bank Piper Sandler Companies said.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last month that although Apple’s device rollouts continue to be closely watched, the devices themselves act as an on-ramp to the services ecosystem.

“Services, of course, has been the revenue driver that has been outpacing the earnings from the screens and watches that adorn our palms and wrists,” that report said.

Apple’s most recent quarterly results showed revenues from hardware dipping 4.7%, while services-related sales climbed 8.2%.