Huawei outpaces Apple to lead tablet sales in Chinese mainland market

People walk past a flagship store of Huawei in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province, Sept. 11, 2023. Chinese telecom giant Huawei held a product launch event on Monday in Shenzhen.(Photo: Xinhua)

In a notable shift within China’s technology sector, Huawei overtook Apple to become the top brand in China’s tablet market in the last quarter of 2023. The achievement marks the first time since 2010 that Apple has been displaced at the top of China’s tablet market.

The development occurs as the tablet market faces a downturn, with Huawei showing remarkable resilience and growth against the odds, including years of pressure from Western countries.

Last year global tablet market was on a downward trajectory, with shipments in Chinese mainland declining. Sales of Apple’s tablets also followed the market downwards, while Huawei achieved a reverse increase and managed to surpass Apple, Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom observer, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Huawei’s rise to the forefront of the Chinese tablet market is part of a broader trend. 

According to a report released by International Data Corporation (IDC) on Wednesday, Chinese tablet market was in a slide, with tablet shipments falling by approximately 5.7 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter to 8.17 million units.

Huawei’s success is attributed to its successful brand image. Since the launch of the Mate 60 smartphone series last year, which marked Huawei’s return to high-end cellphone market, its cellphones and tablets have almost sold out, Ma said.

On the global stage, Huawei’s tablet shipments experienced a significant 95 percent increase in the fourth quarter, with approximately 2.82 million units shipped worldwide. This surge in shipments propelled Huawei to the third place of the market globally, behind Apple and Samsung, according to data released by Canalys. 

Experts note that a gap in innovation has allowed Huawei to overtake Apple in the tablet market, citing a lack of significant new features in Apple’s tablet products in recent years.

Last September and November, Huawei released new 13.2-inch and 11-inch MatePad Pro models, featuring the latest HarmonyOS and satellite connectivity, among other new features. 

Huawei’s rebound in its consumer business extends beyond tablets to the more significant smartphone sector. IDC data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2023, Huawei’s smartphone shipments grew by a staggering 36.2 percent, securing a 13.9 percent market share in China, ranking fourth. 

Moreover, according to Counterpoint, Huawei led the Chinese smartphone market in sales in the first two weeks of 2024.

Huawei has faced multiple rounds of sanctions from the US and several European countries, including bans on selling its telecom equipment in the US and some European countries. The sanctions disrupted updates to its Kirin series processors for years. The launch of its high-end Mate 60 series in August last year is seen as a significant breakthrough by Huawei against US’ relentless sanctions.