Apple iPhone Shipments In China Slide, As Cook Talks With Trump Official

Apple’s tricky position in the Chinese smartphone market has been highlighted in a new report from IDC Research, as CEO Tim Cook reportedly held talks with a senior Trump official.

IDC on Thursday announced in its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, that “China’s smartphone market shipped 71.6 million units in 1Q25, a 3.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase.”

The IDC research also revealed that Apple’s shipments of iPhones in China during this period slumped 9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, and it was the only major smartphone manufacturer to see a decline in that market.

Tim Cook talks

Into this development comes a report from the Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the phone call, which revealed that Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week about the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on iPhone prices.

The Trump administration last week had granted tariff exclusions to smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China, offering some relief for tech firms including Apple, HP and Dell.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was in favour of the taxes to remain in place, according to the Washington Post article.

Meanwhile White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Post that Apple or any other company had not been granted “any exemptions”.

This was despite US President Donald Trump saying he had “helped Tim Cook recently”.

It emerged earlier this month that as a reaction to the global chaos and confusion created by Trump and his tariffs, Apple had chartered cargo flights to fly 600 tons of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the United States from India.

That came after Apple stepped up production in India in an effort to beat Trump’s tariffs.

Apple in China

Meanwhile Apple’s tricky position in the Chinese smartphone market was highlighted by IDC’s most recent data.

IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker revealed that China’s smartphone market shipped 71.6 million units in 1Q25, a 3.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase.

It said this growth was driven by the government subsidies that extended to smartphones in January 2025, as well as the peak sales season of the Spring Festival. IDC said the Chinese market outperformed the global growth of 1.5 percent but came below IDC’s projections as the effect of the government subsidies on bolstering existing consumer demand appeared to be modest.

“The US-China tensions have fuelled unsettling news, but the silver lining is that the first quarter’s growth gave market players a better position to deal with any challenges in the rest of the year,” said Will Wong, senior research manager for Client Devices at IDC Asia/Pacific.

“Xiaomi stood out as it regained the top spot after nearly a decade, a resurgence largely fuelled by government subsidies that resonated with its value-conscious customer base, “ Wong added. “Apple, on the other hand, declined as its premium pricing structure prevented it from capitalising on the subsidies.”

The IDC data revealed that the top smartphone supplier in China is Xiaomi, which in Q1 2025 shipped 13.3 million units, giving it a market share of 18.6 percent, which was up 39.9 percent from its 13.8 percent market share in Q1 2024.

Second was Huawei which in Q1 2025 shipped 12.9 million units, giving it a market share of 18 percent, which was up 10 percent from its 17 percent market share in Q1 2024.

Third was OPPO which in Q1 2025 shipped 11.2 million units, giving it a market share of 15.7 percent, which was up 3.3 percent from its 15.7 percent market share in Q1 2024.

Fourth was vivo which in Q1 2025 shipped 10.3 million units, giving it a market share of 14.4 percent, which was up 2.3 percent from its 14.6 percent market share in Q1 2024.

In fifth position was Apple, which in Q1 2025 shipped 9.8 million units, giving it a market share of 13.7 percent, which was down 9 percent from its 15.6 percent market share in Q1 2024.