iPhone 13 beats iPhone 14?

Chinese consumers bought fewer iPhone 14 handsets in the early days of its availability than iPhone 13 a year ago, Jefferies said.

The new iPhone 14 Initial China Sales lag predecessor! (AP)

Chinese consumers bought fewer iPhone 14 handsets in the early days of its availability than iPhone 13 a year ago, Jefferies said in a note on Monday.

Sales of Apple Inc.'s latest smartphone series in the first three days of delivery came to 987,000 units, 11% lower than comparable sales of the iPhone 13 family last year, analysts including Edison Lee wrote in the note. It's a rare double-digit decline for the iPhone, whose sales had been the most resilient in a Chinese smartphone market that's seen its domestic leaders slump all year.

“These initial data suggested iPhone 14's sales may not be as strong as the pre-order levels indicated, since pre-order does not come with any payment obligations,” it said.

Smartphone shipments in China fell by almost a third to 19.1 million in July, national data showed earlier this month, adding to a year of dwindling sales in the world's largest mobile market. The Chinese consumer economy has had a stuttering year affected by stringent Covid containment policies and weak economic performance.

Apple's effort to diversify its supply chain got a boost Monday with the announcement that it's begun assembling iPhone 14 devices in India. It's the fastest turnaround yet from release to India manufacturing by the Cupertino, California-based company.