January iPhone shipments much higher than average in China, data suggests

Apple's iPhone shipments are tracking higher than the typical seasonal average in Mainland China, according to new smartphone market data.

In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee took a look at the latest smartphone market data for the month of January, which was recently released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Shipments of international devices in the country, which are mostly made up of Apple iPhones, clocked in at 7.3 million in January. That's well above the historical average of 4.8 million units for the month of January.

In addition, Chatterjee notes that January 2022 was Apple's best quarter for smartphone sales in January since 2015.

Shipments in January increased 49% month-over-month, though still decreased 24% seasonally from December.

Since October, Chatterjee writes that international smartphone shipments in China tracked at 30.3 million units, 20% higher year-over-year and 28% higher than the historical average.

Despite the fact that international smartphone sales in China appear to be booming, the analyst notes that the market as a whole in the country tracked below typical seasonality. Total mobile phone shipments decreased 1% month-over-month between December and January.

Shipments of 5G-equipped smartphones also decreased 3% from December and 4% year-over-year. CAICT's data indicates that 26.3 million 5G-equipped smartphones were shipped in January.

The share of 5G smartphones sold stood at 80%, higher than 76% this time in 2021 and 53% in 2020.