Apple in the past too, have been troubled by Chinese firms consistently succeeding in overtaking the Cupertino giant, with better sales and cheaper prices primarily in the Chinese markets. Even if all iPhone are actually made in China, the fact that Apple has managed to concede to manufacturers in the local markets is not all surprising. Apple's pricing mainly adds to others managing to crush Apple down in general. 

It's not just Apple or other smartphone manufacturers who've not managed to have a successful sales chart, consistently pointing out the dropdown in sales to all these firms in China. It's likely due to the fact that the Chinese, in general, prefer to buy locally manufactured smartphones which will work out cheaper for the consumer too, with added bonus being exceptional support for the consumer. This is a primary source as to why local start-ups in China have managed to overtake corporate giants in their own nation. 

As reported above, Apple has lost the fourth spot in smartphone purchase to local competitor Xiaomi, as per recent quarterly results, reported by MacRumors. The Cupertino giant falls down to the fifth spot from fourth in shipment sales. Huawei managed to stay consistent in sales managing to ship out 76.2million units in 2016 itself while Apple managed to sell only 43.8million units, down by 18.2 percent, adding to the company's decline in global shipments last year.  

Combined shipment sales from Xiaomi and Apple only managed  131.6million shipments in china. Xiaomi too, on the other hand, fell down a bit, but not at a level that affects Apple. The analysis in the past has continuously pointed out at Apple's decline in China. Some details about the decline have been discussed on Economic times. 

Xiaomi at once was claimed to be the 'Apple' of China but however, not anymore. Their strategies for sales for some time have relied only on online channels. Apple, on the other hand, has mainly relied on the brand factor that is still filling up the cash in the banks.