Ever Trend Zone After this rocky start, the iPhone business has shown sign recovery, especially in China. Especially in China, Apple has recently been overtaken by local brands on its aggressive government subsidy plan. This is the latest data.
New reports from Counterpoint Research (via Macle Tumor) iPhone sales rose 15% year-on-year in April and May, saying it is Apple’s strongest performance at this time of the year since the pandemic.
This is a rapid rebound driven by new demand in both the US and China. This is two markets that continue to create or destroy Apple’s quarterly iPhone numbers, for better or worse.
The US, China, India and Japan led the pack
In China, Apple was able to regain its number one spot in May after losing months to Huawei and other local brands that took advantage of a positive combination of promotional discounts and government-supported subsidies.
Meanwhile, in the US, counterpoint analyst Ivan Ram suggested that sales bumps could reflect consumers rushing to buy their iPhones before potential new tariffs. The April and May periods could land on the thick thickness of the tensions of a new trade war, urging some buyers to act faster than planned. Still, Ram said, “The performance of the Q2 iPhone looks promising at the moment.”
Elsewhere, India continued to rise steadily thanks to Apple’s new interest and investment in the country, but Japan showed solid iPhone growth with the iPhone 16E hitting chords with consumers thanks to its lower form factor and lower price.
As for AI, Counterpoint says it hasn’t actually moved the needle so far. Analyst Jeff Fieldhack noted that “agent AI” is not yet a factor in most smartphone purchase decisions. This will bring Apple Intelligence, giving Apple a little more breathing room to provide faster Siri over 2025, 2026, and (certainly) more.
