Apple Inc. sold fewer iPhones and lost ground to Chinese rivals last year, reflecting the absence of Apple Intelligence in its largest market outside the US.

The iPhone slipped a point to 18 per cent market share in 2024, according to Counterpoint Research data. Archrival Samsung Electronics Co. also gave up share to faster-growing Android device makers from China, led by Xiaomi Corp. and Vivo. Apple marked a 2 per cent sales decline for the full year, according to the research, at a time that the wider market grew 4 per cent globally.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has been playing catchup on artificial intelligence, with its suite of AI enhancements rolling out in stages following the launch of the iPhone 16 in September. Those AI additions are not yet available in any form in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market, as the company is still working to secure local partners who can help provide features like AI writing assistance and image generation.

“Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch,” Counterpoint director Tarun Pathak said. “However, Apple continued to grow strongly in its non-core markets like Latin America.”

Lenovo Group Ltd.’s Motorola and Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co. and Honor Device Co. were the fastest-growing brands in the top 10, the researchers found. China’s smartphone makers are all developing their own in-house AI tools and agents, including services that can perform tasks on a user’s behalf.

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