In February, shipments of Apple’s iPhone to China fell by more than 30% compared to last year. This marked a struggle for Apple in the Chinese market as shipments decreased for two consecutive months.
Bloomberg quoted statistics from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) on the 26th that iPhone shipments to China were about 2.4 million units, a 33% decrease compared to last year. In January, shipments were 5.5 million units, a 39% decrease compared to last year. This marks a two-month consecutive decline in China.
Last month’s poor performance is attributed to the longer Chinese New Year holiday. Apple is struggling as the economic downturn in China remains unresolved, and demand for products from local Chinese companies like Huawei increases. An analyst at market research firm Canalys, Nicole Peng, said, “Chinese retail networks are still digesting the fourth quarter shipments, which explains the decrease in shipments over the past few months.”
Meanwhile, Apple is expected to unveil its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Mark Gurman, a Bloomberg expert on Apple, said, “Apple plans to unveil its AI strategy at the developer conference on June 10.” He added, “Apple has not announced any specific plans for the event, but those knowledgeable about the issue said the event will focus on AI.”
WWDC invites developers worldwide to announce new features that will be included in the latest iPhones released through new software in September and October. However, last year, it attracted the attention of the global IT industry by unveiling the mixed reality (MR) headset “Vision Pro.”
It is noteworthy whether Apple can change the industry evaluation through this event, as there are many interpretations that Apple is behind competitors in the AI field. CEO Tim Cook mentioned in February that they are “investing heavily in AI.” As the AI feature is expected to be included, iOS 18, which will be incorporated into the new iPhone, is expected to be the most ambitious software overhaul in iPhone history.
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