Apple's latest iPhone 15 model starts at a higher price point of 5,999 yuan ($832), compared to Huawei's Mate 60, starting at 5,499 yuan ($763), and Xiaomi's Mi 14 priced from 3,999 yuan ($555).

China's decision to expand its prohibition on iPhones within key sectors indicates growing challenges for Apple.

As per the report, JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) reported that Apple products exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion) in transaction volume on their platform during the festival. Xiaomi also said a substantial gross merchandise value of over 22.4 billion yuan.

The Chinese smartphone market is expected to rebound, with IDC predicting year-on-year sales growth in the fourth quarter after ten consecutive quarters of decline. The competition intensified before the shopping festival, with significant discounts on Apple iPhones offered by Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Counterpoint analysts, as per the report, suggest that Apple's sluggish performance is partly due to supply chain issues affecting the availability of the new iPhone 15 models. Senior analyst Ivan Lam expects the supply situation to normalize soon.

Price Action: AAPL shares closed higher by 0.35% at $191.31 on Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.