US media: Apple iPhone 15 failed to cause a sensation in China

On September 14th, it was reported that Apple's newly released new iPhone has not caused a huge sensation among Chinese consumers as in previous years, which is the latest sign that the company is facing increasingly severe challenges in one of its largest markets.According to foreign media reports, the challenges facing Apple in China are becoming increasingly apparent

On September 14th, it was reported that Apple's newly released new iPhone has not caused a huge sensation among Chinese consumers as in previous years, which is the latest sign that the company is facing increasingly severe challenges in one of its largest markets.

According to foreign media reports, the challenges facing Apple in China are becoming increasingly apparent. The company is attempting to reduce its manufacturing and supply chain dependence on China, shifting to another country with a population of over 1 billion, India, where it produces more iPhones, opens stores, and expands market share.

Last week, Apple released an emergency security update to fix operating system vulnerabilities that allowed the Israeli NSO group's spyware "Pegasus" to be embedded in iPhones and iPads.

In recent years, the efforts of the United States to prevent companies such as Huawei from acquiring strategic technology have greatly changed the smartphone market. In the first half of 2020, Huawei's sales share of high-end smartphones in China was close to that of Apple. But in the second quarter of 2023, iPhone accounted for 65% of the market share, while Huawei phones accounted for 18%.

Last week, Huawei released a new smartphone to compete in the high-end smartphone market. Senior Apple analyst Guo Mingyi predicts that Huawei's Mate60Pro smartphone shipments may reach 6 million units in the second half of this year, about 20% higher than initial estimates. He also predicted that within the year after its release, the cumulative shipment volume of this smartphone may exceed 12 million units.

According to data from market research company Canalys, in the second quarter of 2023, the shipment volume of all smartphones (including high-end and low-end models) in China decreased by 5% year-on-year to 64.3 million units. Apple ranks third with 10.4 million iPhone shipments.

According to data from research firm TechInsights, measured solely by iPhone shipments, China became Apple's largest global market for the first time in the second quarter.

Huawei's strong return poses a threat to Apple's dominant position. In an online survey launched on Weibo, "Will you give up your iPhone and switch to Huawei phones this year?" Out of nearly 200000 respondents, over 40% expressed willingness.

Shan Yiren, a 40 year old Shanghai lawyer, said that his iPhone 12 ProMax has been in use for over three years and is currently considering acquiring a 512GB version of the iPhone 15 ProMax, which is priced at approximately $1650 in China.

Lawyer Shan stated that he is more willing to continue using the iPhone because it is convenient to migrate data and settings from the old device to the new device. But Huawei's latest satellite call function has also caught his attention. He said, "Compared to Apple, Huawei's high-end models are reasonably priced, so I am also considering buying one as a backup device, just to try out the satellite function and show my support for Huawei

Apple has achieved increasing success in other emerging markets, especially in India, where it hopes to make up for the decline in sales in China. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated in August this year that India has achieved another quarter of record sales.

Cook said on a conference call with investors, "India is the second largest smartphone market in the world." He also acknowledged that Apple's share in the Indian market is still very small, but "this is a huge opportunity for us.

According to reports, Apple has been working hard to accelerate the production of the latest iPhone in India and shorten the time difference from production in China to production in India. The company began producing some iPhone models in India in 2017, thereby avoiding tariffs on imported equipment from China and lowering prices for customers.

In April of this year, Apple also opened its first store in India, and Cook personally unveiled it.

However, due to the relatively low income of Indians, low-end smartphones running the Google Android operating system have long dominated the Indian market. According to Counterpoint Research, it is expected that Apple will occupy 5% of the overall smartphone market in the country this year, up from 1% in 2019.

According to Counterpoint Research, Apple has made progress in the higher priced smartphone market, with a 59% share in the smartphone market priced over $540. (Small)