(Yicai) July 4 -- Apple's iPhone sales in China likely increased last quarter for the first time in almost two years, thanks to strong e-commerce promotional campaigns and the country's national subsidy program, according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple expects iPhone's China sales to have jumped 8 percent in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier, lifted by strong sales of the 16 Pro and Pro Max models, Counterpoint said yesterday.

However, the US tech giant likely remained behind Huawei Technologies and Vivo in the Chinese market, with the former expecting sales to have jumped 12 percent, while the latter to have dropped 9 percent.

"Apple's adjustment of iPhone prices in May was well timed and well received, coming a week ahead of the 618 shopping festival," said Ethan Qi, associate director at Counterpoint. The California-based firm claimed the top spot during the annual retail extravaganza, which ran from May 13 through June 18, with three iPhone models ranking in the top half of the bestseller list.

After iPhone sales in China dropped for seven consecutive quarters, Apple intensified local promotional efforts this year. In May, it told Chinese distributors to slash the price of its latest iPhone 16 series, cutting retail prices by CNY1,400 (USD195), while some e-commerce sites saw discounts of as much as CNY2,000.

On June 24, Apple announced on its website in China that it would participate in the national subsidy program for replacing old consumer goods, offering discounts of up to CNY2,000, with the offer limited to Beijing and Shanghai.

This was Apple's first direct involvement in such a program in China after subsidies on its products were only available through third-party sales channels such as e-commerce retailers JD.Com and Alibaba Group's Tmall in the past.

Smartphone sales in China climbed 1 percent last quarter from a year ago, thanks to the national subsidy program, noted Zhang Mengmeng, a senior analyst at Counterpoint. However, there may be a gradual drop in the program in the second half of the year, which could lead to some uncertainty for market growth, Zhang noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev