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"Huawei, in particular, has seen a resurgence in the high-end smartphone market, fueled by advanced chips produced entirely in China." As opposed to what - being produce in Indiana?

Nah, the three main reason have to be price, that more users in that market are using PCs (there's little reason to own an iPhone if you don't also own a Mac - which may be the largest hurdle, aside from this next point), and let's not kid ourselves - politics/egos. The US & Chinese markets are very different (not exactly breaking news). Thus, what works in the states may not work in China. And Apple has not shown interest in catering to market-specific parameters in China in any meaningful way(s). It'll be interesting to see how, or if, they react to this downturn. But wtf do I know? Little.
 
Even Apple fans like myself in the US are experiencing Apple fatigue. I've recently found myself many times wondering about alternative options for both tablets and phones. I never experienced those thoughts a few years ago.

Something seems stale and tired with Apple these days...

I'm just bored with smartphones, across the spectrum. It's a mature market and picking out a new phone is about as exciting as picking out new tires.
 
Much deserved. iPhones have been basically the same since 4 years now.
Heavy
Huge notch compared to Androids
No finger print reader on-screen
60hz display in almost all devices
Slow charge
Normal speed compared to the other
Normal network behavior
Poor typing correction
No multitask
mediocre keyboard
No foldable phone yet!
Ilusion of safer not so true anymore
Etc. still love my 15pro max, but will be my last iPhone in a few years. Then Harmony Os for me!.

Innovation is not Apple strong suit since Tim took reign. Apple is investor oriented and that is killing it.
Apple survives because of the artificial US restriction on a company, not because Apple is absolutely better in every aspect. Not anymore.
Now iOS 18 with AI will be the selling point to get an IPhone?, sorry, it will be just an expensive disaster for Apple.
I'll say it again. This is what happens when accountants are in charge of tech companies. No really new stuff in a long time. Except the glasses which are so expensive no one buys them.
 
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I know people like to say that the reason the iPhone isn't doing as well in China is due to politics, but I think it's more that Chinese phone manufacturers are trying all sorts of new and interesting things and pushing the boundaries of mobile technology...

...and meanwhile, Apple is set to release the iPhone 12SSSS this year. :p
I think this is the main reason. I looked at some of these brands and felt that the iPhone was still stuck in its earlier 2010s. Apple is not innovating or doing anything interesting anymore, they are re-packaging the same phone over and over again and expecting people to spend 1,000+ every year for it. And FYI, adding new phone colors is not an innovation.
 
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I'm just bored with smartphones, across the spectrum. It's a mature market and picking out a new phone is about as exciting as picking out new tires.
Not really sure what people expect at this point, this nomral and happens to every industry.
 
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I think this is the main reason. I looked at some of these brands and felt that the iPhone was still stuck in its earlier 2010s. Apple is not innovating or doing anything interesting anymore, they are re-packaging the same phone over and over again and expecting people to spend 1,000+ every year for it. And FYI, adding new phone colors is not an innovation.
No one should be replacing their phone every year. Just like people keep computers for several years, phones should be the same at this point.
 
...everyone and their dog ... has one.

Dogs are the last bastion of Apple's defenses...

tech-technology-dog-pet-phone-mobile.jpg
 
I suspect that Chinese people are not blind to the fact that there is a bright white line at the bottom of the iPhone screen.

That "home bar" is annoying. It obscures text beneath it. That white line shows up in screenshots. It interferes with gaming. It's a sign of Apple arrogance because despite years of complaints they won't respond to customers by fixing it.

I look forward to a bar-less and notch-less future. The toolbar on the iPad when it’s in a Keyboard case is even worse than this bar (though you can disable it). Apple should have moved the Home button to the side of the iPhone but even now the Home Screen is not an option for the Action button.
 
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I know people like to say that the reason the iPhone isn't doing as well in China is due to politics, but I think it's more that Chinese phone manufacturers are trying all sorts of new and interesting things and pushing the boundaries of mobile technology...

...and meanwhile, Apple is set to release the iPhone 12SSSS this year. :p
Apple stopped innovating in iPhones -- unless you call adding a button (wow!) innovation! They were behind with periscope lenses, they are behind with foldable phones. The only thing superior about iPhones is the software, but if everything is in WeChat, that hardly makes a difference.

And what politics? Mainly politics prevents superior Chinese phone from being sold in the US, so Apple is not pushed much to innovate.
 
Nah, the three main reason have to be price, that more users in that market are using PCs (there's little reason to own an iPhone if you don't also own a Mac - which may be the largest hurdle
Just as in China, there are more Windows PC users in the U.S. than Mac users (62.44% vs 24.47%) and yet iOS market share in the U.S. is greater than for Android (55.91% vs 43.77%).

What desktop/laptop OS someone is running has little bearing on what smartphone they buy.

Plus, a growing number of people are smartphone-only, meaning they own a smartphone but not a desktop/laptop computer.
 
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I think this is the main reason. I looked at some of these brands and felt that the iPhone was still stuck in its earlier 2010s. Apple is not innovating or doing anything interesting anymore, they are re-packaging the same phone over and over again and expecting people to spend 1,000+ every year for it. And FYI, adding new phone colors is not an innovation.

Seriously? Having owned an early 2010s era iPhone 4 and 5... and comparing those to my current iPhons 15 PM, that's quite amusing.
 
Which is not an if but when. It is nearly impossible to live in contemporary China today without WeChat.
I remember back in like 2014 when WeChat did the smartest, most insidious thing I've ever seen to secure its dominance in the market;

They introduced hongbao / red packets into the chat functionality. Where families and friends already had big group chats, they could 'give' the packet to the chat and everyone would get a few RMB. It let one user who was willing enough to add their payment info into Wechat to distribute money to dozens of other people who either didn't yet know or trust that they could put money into their WeChat accounts or add debit cards.

I saw this all during Lunar New Years Eve. Suddenly in one night literally millions of people had 'free' money they they could spend in shops which were starting to use QR payments, or remove from their account if they were willing to add a debit card or just re-send to someone else as a new hongbao.

This new feature really solidified that phones in China are just portals for WeChat. Having said that I refused to do it but instead set up an Alipay account which is just as invasive.
 
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The real reason is Apple is behind in most aspects in Smartphone market.

1. Poor displays (Dull colours and glare issues) People don't care about XDR and fancy terms.
2. Poor Battery life
3. Slow charging speed
4. No easy way to transfer downloaded random files from iPhone to PC/Mac
5. Basic cheap non-Pro models artificially limited to 60hz while $250 androids are pushing 120hz
6. Brand fatigue
7. Patriotism and feeling amongst Chinese that USA = Bad
#7 being the only one that is actually true.
 
I suspect that Chinese people are not blind to the fact that there is a bright white line at the bottom of the iPhone screen.

That "home bar" is annoying. It obscures text beneath it. That white line shows up in screenshots. It interferes with gaming. It's a sign of Apple arrogance because despite years of complaints they won't respond to customers by fixing it.

No other phone has this artifact on the screen. And you can't turn it off.
Absolutely no one cares about this.
 
This should have been #1



This!

The Chinese are allowed or "encouraged" to have national pride and are not called racist or xenophobic for doing so.
It’s not like the U.S. bans Chinese products or mobile phones.
 
The real story is that Apple's quality is so appreciated that it manages to stay in the top 5/6 spot in a massive country where competition is fierce from local competitors and nationalism is max.

Imagine a single Chinese vendor being number 5/6 in the United States. There would be congressional inquiries.
 
The drop in China is a political one. I suspect the iphone market is increasing in India as production ramps up there with almost the same population as China.
 
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