New Delhi, Jan 28 : Apple became the number two smartphone player in China for the first time in a whole year even after falling 3 per cent (year-on-year) in 2022, a new report has shown. According to Counterpoint Research, Apple reached its highest-ever quarterly share, capturing 23.7 per cent of the sales in Q4 2022. This was despite the shortages faced by the iPhone 14 Pro versions as well as the comparatively lower popularity of the iPhone 14 series' non-Pro versions due to limited upgrades compared to the iPhone 13, the report mentioned. Moreover, China's smartphone sales declined 14 per cent (year-on-year) in 2022 to reach their lowest level in a decade, also in Q4 2022, China's smartphone sales declined 15 per cent (year-on-year). The report said that -- the sudden relaxing of the Covid-19 norms in December resulted in a surge in cases and led the market to decline 5 per cent (quarter-on-quarter) to record its lowest quarterly sales in the year, instead of posting a typical seasonal increase. Further, vivo retained the first spot with a 19.2 per cent market share in 2022. HONOR was the only brand in 2022 to have a positive growth at 38 per cent (year-on-year). vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi saw (year-on-year) declines of 23 per cent, 27 per cent, and 19 per cent respectively in 2022 as demand dropped amid economic uncertainty, according to the report. /IANS