APPLE Inc.’s iPhone was the top-selling smartphone series in China for the first time last year, a surprisingly strong showing in the face of fierce local competition.

The iPhone ranked first in shipments in the fourth quarter and 2023 overall, market tracker IDC said. But Apple’s smartphone shipments in China shrank 2.1% in the final quarter of 2023 from the same period a year ago.

IDC also noted rising competition from domestic names like a resurgent Huawei Technologies Co., but timely discounts and promotions helped reduce the harm for Apple.

Huawei’s shipments increased 36.2% in the last quarter of the year, the IDC figures showed. The Shenzhen-based company rose to become the No. 4 smartphone maker in China in the quarter with a 13.9% share.

For last year, Apple’s 2.2% drop in 2023 was better than local rivals like Honor Device Co. and Vivo — both of which suffered double-digit slumps.

Overall, shipment volume in China’s smartphone market was 73.63 million units for the fourth quarter, up 1.2%. For the full year, shipment volume was 271 million units, down 5%, IDC said.

The year 2023 marked the lowest volume of smartphones in China in a decade, according to IDC. It was also highlighted by Huawei’s return to prominence with its Mate 60 series.

“Apple’s climb to the top spot in 2023, especially in light of renewed competition from Huawei and the soft spending sentiment, marks a tremendous success,” said IDC research analyst Arthur Gao.

“Apple achieved this thanks to timely price promotions in its third-party channels, which stimulated demand.”       (SD-Agencies)