The Zhitong Finance App learned that demand for the iPhone, the flagship product of Apple (AAPL.US), rebounded in the Chinese market last month, and shipments increased 52%, thanks to a series of discounts offered by its retail partners. According to the latest data, smartphone shipments in China have surged. According to estimates, about 3.5 million of these are from foreign brands, and iPhones account for the vast majority. According to this caliber, Bloomberg estimates that iPhone shipments in April this year increased 52% year-on-year based on the 2.3 million iPhone shipments in the same period last year. After a sharp decline in the first two months of this year, iPhone recorded growth in March after a decline in shipments in the first two months of the year.

According to data from the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the domestic market shipped 24.071 million units in April, up 28.8% year on year. Among them, 20.32 million 5G phones were sold, up 52.2% year on year, accounting for 84.1% of mobile phone shipments during the same period. Since the beginning of the year, iPhones have not performed well in the Chinese market. In January, shipments were about 5.5 million units, down 39% year on year; February shipments were 2.4 million units, down 33% from the previous month; March data showed signs of stabilization. Meanwhile, Apple and its Chinese distributors have been cutting prices, and these deals will continue until the e-commerce sales festival that accompanies 618. Sales of Apple's latest generation phones showed a double-digit decline, and their high-end market share was taken away by Huawei.

Earlier, according to analysts, the iPhone decline in China may be coming to an end as consumers showed greater interest in upgrading to new devices in a recent survey. Bloomberg analysts Steven Tseng and Sean Chen said, “The iPhone's shrinking market share in China may soon stabilize, as our latest survey shows that after being replaced by Huawei, Apple will once again become the favorite smartphone brand among Chinese consumers.”

Also, it is worth noting that the Apple Global Developers Conference is in early June. According to foreign media reports, Apple's partnership with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is likely to be revealed to the world at WWDC. According to predictions, Apple is likely to focus on software aspects, such as rolling out updates to operating systems such as iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15.

Project Greymatter, the core of Apple's latest AI strategy, is also worth paying attention to. It aims to integrate artificial intelligence tools into core applications such as Safari, Photos, and Notes, and enhance operating system functions, such as notification systems. This year, Apple is developing several new features, including voice memo transcription, AI photo retouching, Spotlight search optimization, improved Safari web search, and autoresponders to emails and text messages. At the same time, Siri will also be upgraded to provide a more natural interaction experience based on Apple's own large-scale language model.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, a top Wall Street investment agency, predicts that in terms of its artificial intelligence development opportunities, Apple's user base of more than 2 billion system installation users brings the “best” opportunity in the world. Ives believes that Apple's upcoming global WWDC in June will be a “critical moment” for the company's AI ambitions, and the analyst expects Apple to make the leap forward in AI smartphones with the iPhone 16 scheduled to launch in September this year.

Furthermore, Morgan Stanley recently predicted that Apple's WWDC in June of this year will be the focus of market attention, and the top priority may be the new smartphone that Apple may launch with a large AI model. Zheng Zhenxiang's team of Fangzheng Securities published a research report commenting on Apple's layout in the AI field. The team believes that Apple's artificial intelligence layout is comprehensive and in-depth, focusing not only on technology development and product application, but also on ecological construction and cooperative development. In the future, with the continuous development of AI technology and the continuous expansion of application fields, Apple's artificial intelligence layout will continue to be deepened and improved, and the entire Apple industry chain will also usher in sector opportunities.

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BYD Electronics (00285): As early as 2012, BYD began OEM production of mobile phones for Apple and electronic products such as iPads.

Sunyu Optical Technology (02382): According to market information, Sunyu continues to cooperate with Apple in the AR/VR field, and at the same time, the company has officially entered the iPhone lens supply chain.

Ruisheng Technology (02018): It has been Apple's official supplier since 2010, providing Apple with iPhone crisis electric microphones, high-specification electroacoustic components, etc.

Tongda Group (00698): The company is a one-stop service provider for consumer electronic product housings. It mainly designs and produces consumer electronics, including mobile phone, laptop and electrical appliance housings and related products. The company is one of Apple's core suppliers because it supplies Apple's three-proof and precision structural parts.