Close to half of China’s iPhone users that switched devices in the first half of the year chose Android handsets, according to a report from mobile data research firm QuestMobile. Of those, nearly half opted for a Huawei smartphone.
Why it matters: Against a backdrop of impending tech restrictions from the US, it appears that a shift in brand loyalty toward domestic brands—particularly Huawei—is intensifying among Chinese consumers.
- Rising demand for products at home could help Huawei as it faces the possibility of a ban on its purchase of US components next month.
- The Shenzhen-based telecom giant is bracing itself for steep drop-off in international sales in the second half of 2019, expected to fall between 40 million and 60 million devices compared with last year.
Details: Some 46% of iOS users that invested in new devices in H1 opted for an Android, a rise of 2.8% compared with the same period a year earlier.
- 42.9% of iPhone X users in China choose Huawei when switching to Android in H1 2019, according to the report.
- Less than one-fifth of Android users that bought new handsets chose Apple products in the period, a slight decrease on last year.
- Apple’s smartphone market share in China dipped to 23.5% in H1 2019 compared with 25.5% the same period a year ago. Huawei’s market share meanwhile grew to 21.6% from 17.0% in H1 2018.
- Additionally, the report found that Tencent’s grip on users is weakening. Users spent 3.6% less time on Tencent apps in the first half compared with a year ago, though its services such as WeChat, QQ, and games still take up 42.3% of user screen time.
- User time spent on Bytedance apps, including Douyin and Toutiao, rose slightly to 11.7% from 10.3% a year ago.