iPhone 12 Sales in China Hit Nearly 18 Million Units in Q4 2020

Apple's iPhone 12 sales in China exceeded all expectations in the fourth quarter of last year, according to local media sources (via DigiTimes).

Sales reached 18 million units, earning Apple an over 20% market share, with momentum expected to continue through the Lunar New Year holiday, bringing shipment volumes for Q1 2021 on par with the number of units shipped the previous quarter.

The figures are all the more impressive given that prior to the iPhone 12 series launch in October 2020, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo accounted for over 90% of China's smartphone market.

The staggering fourth-quarter iPhone 12 shipments helped push Apple's share in China's handset segment to over 20% in fourth-quarter 2020 and reduced the combined share of Chinese brands to about 78%, said the sources, citing market data.

The DigiTimes report offers a word of caution regarding whether supply can keep up with demand, following a widening shortage of semiconductors for handset parts.

However, Apple's wholesale adoption of 5G should bode well for it in the mainstream Chinese market, where 5G phones have started replaced 4G models, with shipments totaling 160 million units out of a total of 300 million handsets.