With the next iPhone rumored to be just weeks away, consumers in China have shown hesitance in buying from Apple's current smartphone lineup and the company's marketshare in the region has suffered as a result. IDC reports that iOS marketshare in China nearly halved in the second quarter, giving a major boost to competitors like Lenovo — which rocketed into second place with an 11 percent share — and Apple's courtroom rival Samsung, which maintains the top slot with 19 percent. The iPhone's marketshare fell to 10 percent, though IDC attributed the drop to anticipation surrounding Apple's next iteration of the popular handset.
Q2 marked the first time that three Chinese vendors ranked among the top five smartphone sellers, according to IDC. Huawei and ZTE also saw success during the quarter, despite not enjoying the same brand recognition as Lenovo. That's particularly important since this was the first quarter in which smartphone sales (pegged at 44.4 million) eclipsed those of feature phones in China.
Of course, a new iPhone could potentially have a dramatic effect on these numbers. Hopefully we'll have a better sense of Apple's international rollout plans for its latest and greatest iOS device on September 12th.