The entire smartphone market in China is getting hit badly, but Apple is gaining marketshare with the iPhone 14 despite lower shipments than 2021.
iPhone 14 demand down by 14% y/y
in China have greatly impacted iPhone 14 Pro availability since shortly after its release in September. Shipping times have improved since then, but Apple is still set to see a total decline in iPhone sales as a result.
According to a combined report from J.P. Morgan and China Academy of Information and Communications Technology seen by AppleInsider, shipments declined by about 14% if data from September and October 2022 are aggregated to account for the later iPhone 13 Pro shipping dates in 2021. Without that aggregated data, iPhone shipments show a 30% decline year over year in October.
That high -30% number only indicates that demand was higher in October 2021 thanks to the late September release date of the iPhone 13 versus mid-September for the iPhone 14.
Despite this decline, Apple saw its market share in China increase by about 1% year over year. In 2021 it was at about 21% market share and is at 22% market share in 2022. This is due to the Chinese smartphone market seeing demand decreased by 18% overall year over year.
Units in Millions, Y/Y % Change. Image source: J.P. Morgan
Since iPhone demand decreased at a slower rate, Apple was able to take more market share.
The J.P. Morgan note also mentions that 5G smartphones made up about 80% of total shipments in October. That's up from 79% of shipments in October 2021.
The data from this report only covers information through October. J.P. Morgan notes that November and December will show a greater impact from the COVID lockdowns and subsequent protests in Zhengzhou.
J.P. Morgan maintains its overweight rating of Apple stock with a price target of $190.