Apple Inc's standing in the Chinese smartphone market declined in the second quarter as domestic brands picked up the pace in sales, two new market reports showed.
In the second quarter, Chinese brand Xiaomi, which shipped 15 million smartphones, pushed Apple out of the top four in terms of market share in China, according to a report released by independent analysis company Canalys on Tuesday.
Xiaomi was previously ranked fifth in sales in China, while Apple was at four, according to media reports.
Huawei Technologies Inc remained the top vendor in China from April-June for the second quarter in a row after shipping more than 23 million smartphones in the market, Canalys' data showed.
Huawei was followed by Oppo and Vivo, which sold 21 million and 16 million units, respectively.
A separate report from Hong Kong-based technology market research firm Counterpoint also put Apple at fourth in terms of sales in China, after Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi, according to a press release on Monday.
Apple's sales in China grew by 8.2 percent year-on-year in the quarter, 0.3 percentage point slower than in the year-earlier period, while sales growth for Xiaomi accelerated from 11.2 percent year-on-year during the second quarter last year to 13 percent this year, according to the report.
Huawei achieved 20.2 percent year-on-year growth in the quarter against 16.9 percent in the same period last year, said the report.
Overall smartphone sales in China dropped 3 percent year-on-year to 112 million units in the second quarter of 2017, according to the Canalys report. The top four Chinese brands captured 69 percent of the market.
The numbers highlight Apple's struggle to maintain its once-dominant position in the world's largest smartphone market, with the US-based technology giant facing several challenges in China.
Chinese consumers have been complaining about Apple's slow process of upgrading its designs. There has also been an outcry about a decision by the company to charge a fee for online tipping, a feature on China's popular social network WeChat that allows users to tip original content providers.
The decision prompted WeChat, which reportedly has more than 889 million users, to shut down the feature, blaming failed talks with Apple.
The decision sparked a widespread backlash from Chinese consumers, who described the charge as an "Apple tax", said media reports.
Some even called for a boycott of Apple's iPhones.
