Apple iPhone shipments plunge in China

Apple CEO Tim Cook / AFP

By Jung Min-ho

Apple's iPhone shipments fell nearly 20 percent in China during the fourth quarter, according to the

latest data

from research firm IDC.

The report shows a 19.9 percent fall in the U.S. company's smartphone shipments in its core Asian market. This reduced its market share to 11.5 percent from 12.9 percent a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Apple's home-grown rival Huawei registered a 23.3 percent gain. Other Chinese brands Oppo and Vivo eked out modest gains of 1.5 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

“The imbalance between the increasingly severe domestic market environment and Apple's high product unit price has led to the declines of iPhone shipments in the Chinese market,” IDC said.

Apple no longer reveals detailed numbers on iPhone sales in its quarterly results. Therefore, surveys and channel checks by research firms are the only clear indicators of sales shifts.