BEIJING, April 23 (Reuters) - Apple's ( AAPL ) smartphone

shipments in China tumbled 19% in the first quarter of the year,

the worst performance since 2020, as its dominance in the

high-end segment came under pressure from Huawei's new

product launches, market data showed.

Apple's ( AAPL ) share in the world's biggest smartphone market fell

to 15.7% in the first quarter from 19.7% a year earlier. That

put it almost level with Huawei, which saw sales jump 70%,

according to research firm Counterpoint.

Apple ( AAPL ) lost its crown as the biggest smartphone

seller in China to rival Vivo, sliding to third place in the

quarter, followed by Huawei whose market share jumped to 15.5%

from 9.3% a year earlier. Honor, a mass market brand spun out of

Huawei, was in second place.

"Huawei's comeback has directly impacted Apple ( AAPL ) in the

premium segment. Besides, the replacement demand for Apple ( AAPL ) has

been slightly subdued compared to previous years," said

Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam in the press release.

"For the second quarter, the possibility of new color

options combined with aggressive sales initiatives could bring

the brand back into positive territory," Lam said, adding it is

seeing slow but steady improvement in weekly iPhone sales.

Throughout the first quarter, Apple ( AAPL ) launched campaigns

to entice consumers with discounts, including

subsidizing certain

iPhone models by as much as 1,300 yuan ($180).

Huawei last week released its Pura 70 series of high-end

phones after launching the Mate 60 series in August. The Mate 60

was seen as a comeback for the Chinese firm in the high-end

market and described as a triumph over U.S. sanctions on the

company, as the handsets contain an advanced China-made chip.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo

said

on Sunday that the chip powering Huawei's flagship phone is

not as advanced as American chips, arguing it showed U.S. curbs

on shipments to the telecoms equipment giant are working.

Canadian research firm TechInsights expects overall

shipments in China this year to top 50 million units, including

10 million for the Pura 70 series. That would make Huawei the

No. 1 seller with a 19% market share, up from 12% in 2023.

In the first quarter, China's smartphone market grew

1.5%, marking the second consecutive quarter of positive growth,

according to Counterpoint.