Apple’s iPhone sales takes top spot in China in May: Counterpoint

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone sales took the top spot in China in May, with global sales rising 15% year-over-year during April and May, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

The increase in global sales was mainly due to a return to growth in Apple’s two largest markets, China and the U.S., Reuters reported, citing preliminary data from Counterpoint Research.

The U.S. tech giant was helped in part by tariff dodgers and also saw double-digit increases in Japan, India and the Middle Eastern markets, the report added.

“Q2 iPhone performance looks promising at the moment, but as always, swings either way are dictated by two markets – the U.S. and China,” said Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint.

Last month it was reported that data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, or CAICT, showed that April shipments of foreign-branded phones, including Apple’s iPhone, in China increased to 3.52M units, compared to 3.50M in the year ago period.

Apple has been facing growing competition from local rivals such as Huawei Technologies and vivo in the Chinese market.