Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone growth is still under pressure in China, according to analysts at Jefferies in a note to clients Tuesday.
Analysts explained that the firm's industry checks indicate China's most recent smartphone volume growth improved from a high single-digit decline to close to flat year-on-year, driven mainly by slight positive growth in Android and Huawei but a double-digit decline in iPhone.
"iPhone's decline was smaller than previously but still in low DD, although it did recover quite strongly sequentially," analysts said. "We believe the entire smartphone market in China still suffered from a high base last year, particularly for iPhone, mainly owing to its production disruption last Nov."
"Our tracking also shows there had been heavy discounts by JD, Tmall (official Apple Store), and PDD on the 14 series, which would have contributed to the sequential recovery in iPhone vol," analysts added.
They also noted that iPhone's discounts moved to the 15 series, while older Android models continued to be discounted heavily. Jefferies feels January will be an even more difficult comparison for year-on-year growth, but the market should focus on sequential volume and high-end demand.