By Yelin Mo and Brenda Goh
BEIJING (Reuters) -Apple’s weak China sales performance may have shocked investors, but customers and analysts have been noting the rising challenges the company faces in its third-largest market.
Intensifying competition from domestic rivals, coupled with longer upgrade cycles as consumers spend more cautiously amid an economic slowdown, have stunted Apple’s China growth, with sales there nosediving by 13% in the quarter ending in December to $20.8 billion and missing estimates of $23.5 billion.
Shares of the company dipped about 3% in premarket trading on Friday, following the disappointing China sales.
“Apple’s sales decline in China is not surprising given the strong competition it faced from local brands like Huawei and Xiaomi,” said Toby Zhu, an analyst with research group Canalys.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As the world’s largest smartphone market, China is crucial to…
