Shipments of foreign phones in China rise slower 10.9% in June, data shows

BEIJING (Reuters) -Shipments of foreign-branded phones including Apple's iPhone within China rose 10.9% in June year-on-year to 2.87 million handsets, a smaller gain than in previous months, data from a government-affiliated research firm showed on Monday.

During the month, overall shipments of phones within China increased by 12.5% to 24.91 million handsets, according to the data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

June's increase in foreign-branded phone shipments was slower compared to the previous two months, when they surged by more than 40% each month.

Apple is the biggest foreign phone maker in China's smartphone market, meaning its performance plays a major role in overall data on foreign-branded phone shipments.

Data from third-party research firms, including Canalys and IDC, indicated a decline in shipments for Apple in China during the second quarter of 2024.

Canalys reported that Apple's smartphone shipments in China for the three-month period ending in June fell by 6.7%.

(Reporting by Liam Mo and Casey Hall; Editing by Louise Heavens and Helen Popper)