By Jon Swartz
Sales of iPhone 14 are off to a sluggish start in China.
Consumers snapped up 987,000 units in the first three days of delivery, 11% lower than comparable sales of the iPhone 13 family last year, according to a Bloomberg report citing Jefferies analysts.
“These initial data suggested iPhone 14’s sales may not be as strong as the pre-order levels indicated, since pre-order does not come with any payment obligations,” Jefferies said in a note of the rare double-digit decline.
The lackluster debut of Apple’s (AAPL) latest smartphone family continued a disappointing stretch of sales in the world’s largest mobile market, which has been battered by a weak economy and tight COVID restrictions. Smartphone shipments plunged by nearly one-third to 19.1 million in July.
There could be a silver lining elsewhere in Asia, however. On Monday, Apple said it had begun assembling iPhone 14 devices in India.
Apple shares were flat in early-afternoon trading on Monday.
-Jon Swartz
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-26-22 1259ET
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