Apple’s China iPhone shipments fall 35 per cent in November, second straight double-digit decline

Apple’s iPhone shipments in China fell more than 35 per cent in November, marking their second straight double-digit decline as sales of the cheaper iPhone 11 remained sluggish, brokerage Credit Suisse said on Thursday.

Shares of the company fell more than 1 per cent to 267.67 in early trading.

Total iPhone shipments in China in the September-November period dropped 7.4 per cent from a year earlier, Credit Suisse analyst Matthew Cabral said, citing data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The latest iPhone 11 range hit stores in China in September, with short queues of diehard fans contrasting with the hundreds who camped out ahead of some previous launches.

Cabral also wrote that Apple would have a tough time pushing through tariff-related price increases to US consumer if the 15 per cent tariffs on billions in Chinese-made consumer goods come into effect on December 15.