Apple sees iPhone sales continue to slide in China: report

By: Nicolas V.

Demand for the latest iPhones is plummeting in China, leading Apple to cut back production.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has seen a 30 percent drop in sales year-over-year, according to a note by Rosenblatt Securities, citing channel checks.

The report cited the cheaper iPhone 11 as hurting the sales of the more expensive iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, predicting that production for the entire 11 line will be scaled down 60 percent beginning in March.

“We expect more production cuts in March as Apple will see increasing headwinds from aggressive 5G smartphone launches in China and 5G service promotions in China begin in March,” analyst Jun Zhang wrote.

The Rosenblatt report comes just days after a Wall Street analysis that shipments of iPhones in China were down more than 35 percent last month — their second straight month of double-digit declines.

Apple’s share of the Chinese smartphone market slipped to 5 percent from 7 percent last month as it struggled to compete with Chinese juggernaut Huawei, which captured 42 percent of its local market last month, according to Credit Suisse.

Shares of Apple were up 0.5 percent Tuesday morning, at $281.21.