(Yicai) Aug. 4 -- Apple increased its sales in China in the quarter ended July 1 amid a global decline due to sluggish electronics demand.

Sales in China rose by 8 percent to USD15.8 billion in the fiscal 2023 third quarter from a year ago, the California-based firm said in its earnings report published yesterday.

Meanwhile, global revenue dropped by 1 percent to USD81.8 billion, marking the third straight quarter of contraction because of the cooling electronics market. Net profit expanded by 2 percent to USD19.9 billion.

The slowdown is not over yet as the trend could continue till the quarter that ends in September, according to Luca Maestri, chief financial officer.

Chief executive Tim Cook explained the China strength. "This was really done by attracting a quarterly record of switchers to the iPhone, as well as having a strong upgrader activity." Moreover, the market refreshed quarterly records for wearables, home products, accessories, and services.

The American tech giant is an outlier. Counterpoint Research, a market research institute, said that from April to June, smartphone shipments in China declined by 4 percent from a year ago, the worst second-quarter performance since 2014.

Despite the downward trend, Apple’s shipments edged up by 7 percent in China to make the brand the only one to grow among the top five handset makers, Counterpoint added.

The iPhone maker will invest more in research and development, especially in artificial intelligence-generated content, as Apple has been exploring AI for years, according to Cook. “We’re going to continue investing and innovating and responsibly advancing our products with these technologies to help enrich people’s lives.”

Editors: Lv Yining, Emmi Laine