A new analyst report published this morning shows that "China's smartphone market contracted by 4% year-on-year (YoY) with 98.8 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2015. This is the first time in six years that the China smartphone market declined YoY as the market continues to mature. On a Quarter over Quarter basis, the market contracted 8% on the back of a large inventory buildup at the end of last year." Yet despite the overall view by IDC, Apple easily bucked this trend.

During Apple's Financial Conference Call we learned that "In Greater China, the iPhone experienced 71% year-over-year growth with 16.8 Billion worth of sales with a 40% gross margin. Mac sales in China were up a whopping 31% and the App Store in China had grown 100%." Cook had also noted that he was thrilled by the huge wave of app developers rising in China.

IDC's report noted that "Apple was the top smartphone vendor in China in the first quarter of 2015, with consumers still having a strong appetite for the larger screens on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus."

IDC further noted that "Xiaomi slipped to the second position as it faced strong competition from other vendors in the low to mid-range segment of the market, while Huawei maintained third position as it saw a good uptake in the mid-range segment." Strong volatility of consumers' brand preference in China has shifted with the result of Samsung and Lenovo losing ground.

It should be particularly noted that IDC's latest report runs contrary to the report published last week by Strategy Analytics that claimed that Apple was in the number two position closely behind Xiaomi. 

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