Apple iPhone 15: Possibly the Worst Debut in China Since 2018

Apple's newest smartphone is off to a slow start in China, the world's largest market for those devices, with early sales down by 4.5%, according to CounterPoint Research, which studies the smartphone industry.

That drop measures the phone's first 17 days after release and compares it to the iPhone 14, Bloomberg reports, and could indicate the worst iPhone debut in China since 2018. Meanwhile, research by the investment bank Jeffries suggests the decline could be even greater — possibly a double-digit decrease.

What's gone wrong for Apple? One cause may be Huawei's new Mate 60 Pro, which launched a few weeks before the iPhone 15 and was heralded by local media as a technical feat. Then there's the slow economic recovery in post-pandemic China that has limited consumer spending.

Overall global demand for smartphones has weakened this year as consumers have cut back on expenses, and Apple has also needed to contend with overheating issues in the iPhone 15.

Still, Apple is seeing strong sales in America. In the U.S., the iPhone 15 likely had a double-digit increase in sales compared to last year during the first nine days. Apple began offering the phone Sept. 22.

"The U.S. is hot right now with back-to-back stellar weekends," Counterpoint research director Jeff Fieldhack told Bloomberg. "It's a positive sign from the biggest iPhone market in the world. So definitely takes some of the sting off the China numbers.”