Source: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore
The iPhone is making a comeback in China as the country begins to ease its COVID-19 restrictions.
According to a new note to investors seen by AppleInsider, JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee noticed that shipments of the iPhone are up over historical averages in the month of May. Chatterjee reported that smartphone shipments overall increased 147% month-over-month in May, a huge improvement over the usual seasonal increase of 22% seen in previous years.
The analyst went on to say that the iPhone increased its market share from 9% in April to 20% in May. International shipments for the new iPhone 13 series have already crossed the 40 million mark, 11% higher than previous models at this stage in the product’s lifecycle.
Overall shipments for the entire smartphone industry in China tracked higher than seasonal averages as well. Total mobile phone shipments grew 15% month-over-month from April to May, outpacing the typical seasonal downtick of 5%. However, Chatterjee offers a few words of caution about the data.
“We believe that industry shipment outperformance this month could be due to lumpiness in CAICT data and reopening from lockdowns in China, and cannot be viewed as a sustainable uptick in the smartphone industry,” the analyst writes.
It’s crazy to think, but we are already about three months away from Apple revealing the iPhone 14 lineup. The company is likely to hold an event in September where it is expected to announce the new iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
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