iPhone Shipments in China Fell 33% in February, State Data Show

  • Foreign brands shipped only about 2.4 million smartphones
  • Apple is the only major foreign player in China market
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Apple Inc. iPhone shipments in China fell about 33% in February from a year earlier, according to official data, extending a slump in demand for the flagship device in its most important overseas market.

The government figures showed foreign brands shipped only about 2.4 million smartphones last month, which was affected by the later timing of the Lunar New Year. Apple accounts for the vast majority of those shipments, as the only overseas player with a meaningful market share. The February decline marks a second consecutive month of lower shipments. In January, the company shipped a total of roughly 5.5 million units, or about 39% fewer handsets than in the prior year, according to China Academy of Information and Communications Technology figures.