Official government figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT)show that Jobs’ Mob shipped roughly 2.5 million iPhones in China in March.

The Tame Apple press is claiming the figures are a win because they are a slight rebound after one of its worst months in the country ever. But what they are not saying is the rebound is only slight and show that Apple’s sales in China are slipping away.

Apple needs China more than ever as the coronavirus looks set to trigger a global recession and kill off its sales in the West.

Chinese retailers largely resumed operations by early March, with brick-and-mortar outlets re-opening and e-commerce logistics getting back in gear after the virus and tough containment measures brought much of the economy to a standstill in the first two months.

The problem is unique to Apple, in its quarterly earnings call as other Chinese mobile phone makers think things are returning to normal.

It is worthwhile pointing putting out that the fall in sales is despite several Chinese online retailers slashing prices on iPhone 11 models.