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These are in no particular order, right?

7 should be 1. That is the main reason above all.

2 is price. Apple are expensive and most Chinese citizens are farmers.

5 is just you stretching out point 1 to try and make a list and is just and adjunct to 2 (price per performance) so could be combined.

2 and 3 are not exactly true when performance is considered. My phone lasts nearly 2 days between charge.

4 might be an issue for you but considering most chinese people don't own a computer it's likely a "you" thing.

6 Brand fatique is bollocks. Chinese love their brands, Channel, Fendi, Gucci etc... But they are going through a massive anti Western(+Japan) Communist driven period in their history right now, so let's combine this with 7...

So let's recap.

6 and 7 are Patriotism -> 1 Not chinese.
1, 2, 3 and 5 -> 2. Price performance ratio.
4 -> Noone cares or just uses online fileshare.

Which brings us down to just two commandments:

1) iPhone is not Chinese.
2) It costs a royal fkuk ton for what is just a glorified phone.

i.e. cost and patriotism.....



Yes, consumer free capitial has tanked among the middile class, many of whom have lost an entire generation's worth of investment in property that will never actually get built. Makes our westerners' getting angry at pre-release games pale in comparison.

We cry about $100 pre-release games that are released in poor state while Chinese people are literally dying over pre-release apartments that cost $1,000,000 and are never even built.
You get it.
 
From the article: "Canalys reported that the overall Chinese smartphone market experienced a 10% year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2024"
Short term. Personally, and thinking in the long term, I think Apple could see a nice sales bump from Vietnam/southeast Asia.
 
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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
Yeah, no…. This has nothing to do with it. I know many of my friends in China that are perfectly happy with their iPhones. They don’t care about any of the stuff you talked about and don’t agree with it.

7. Patriotism and feeling amongst Chinese that USA = Bad
And you got one right. At first when there were some tensions, there was a negative feeling towards USA brands. Now it’s mostly patriotism towards their own brands. You know like “Buy American made”… The thing people in the USA say but then realize cheap overseas products are much cheaper so patriotism goes out the window. It’s not like that in China. For the most part people are very patriotic.
 
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Absolutely, and that used to be a thing here as well. Now, Americans often claim they want products produced domestically and cite faux patriotism, but that evaporates once something costs about 8 cents more than any alternative.

Citation: the sock drawer, closets, and desks of literally anyone in the USA.
Unfortunately, this is true. People complain about stuff made overseas, but don’t want to pay a penny more than they have to. People don’t realize how much stuff is imported now. The crazy thing is if you make a cheap stuffed animal, you have to mark where it’s made on the package. Food has no such restriction. Most cereal is made in South America now but you won’t find this on the box.
 
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90% of iPhone users and Samsung users charge their phone overnight. Because it charges so damn slow, there is no other way around it.
Uh, no. They charge it overnight because they use it during the day and then charge it while they sleep, because they have healthy usage habits and bear personal responsibility.

All I hear when I hear "fast charging" is bad usage habits and a lack of personal responsibility.
 
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A lot of the latest and greatest Chinese phones people are mentioning are on a similar price point to Apple anyways. In the case of those flip ones much more expensive. The Huawei Pura 70 costs about as much as a phone 15 at current prices on jingdong, both just over 5000 and far more than I could ever justify spending on a phone to myself. But I’m unaware how much people buy 2 or 3 year old models with other brands besides iPhone, which is what I usually do to keep my smartphone purchases in a reasonable price range. I’ve always felt this is much more reasonable to do with Apple because of support and personal experience with their durability. I’ve bought 5 iPhones in China and I only went over 3000 yuan with my latest one, an iPhone 13 mini which I bought in June of last year.
 
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Takes of iPhone sales supposedly not doing well never fails to draw the haters out of the woodwork.

My immediate thought is that this feels highly reminiscent of incidents like this.

First, an analyst firm posts news of flagging iPhone sales.


Only for Apple to reveal that while there were some sales weaknesses, nothing was out of the ordinary for this part of the iPhone sales cycle.


I would personally not put too much stock into these analyst info, because they typically don't have full insight into how well the iPhone sells through Apple's own distribution channels. I also don't think that factors like "inferior screens", supposedly "poor batter life" or worse charging speed impact sales either. And my bet is that when Apple announces their next earnings call, you will see that a lot of the FUD surround Apple facing sales challenges in other countries turn out to either be false, or overly exaggerated.

The iPhone is doing fine, will continue to do fine, and I wish more people here would take the time and effort to better understand Apple and business in general, so they can better explain Apple's successes, not keep trying to explain them away all the time. :(
 
And you got one right. At first when there were some tensions, there was a negative feeling towards USA brands. Now it’s mostly patriotism towards their own brands. You know like “Buy American made”… The thing people in the USA say but then realize cheap overseas products are much cheaper so patriotism goes out the window. It’s not like that in China. For the most part people are very patriotic.
Americans would likely walk the walk if the situation was like it is in China, where domestic actually is cheaper.
 
That’s weird, I could’ve sworn I read a recent article here that “sales in China soared 40%” or similar
 
This is the automatic response in every story about Apple slipping in market share. However, the "catch" in "but who makes the most profit..." is that the ultimate endpoint of hanging hats on that one is Apple making just a single iPhone unit, selling it for the highest margin percentage and they still win that very same contest... but die as a company with a unit sales volume of 1 unit.

And if we reposition it as "who makes the most profit dollars?" instead of margin percentage on each unit sold, this Apple could make a single unit, "sell" it for greater profit than all other phones to as little as ONE buyer and survive as a company but have only a single, very deep pocketed customer.

Apple will always win the "but who makes the most profit" contest because the premium is real and STEEP (see RAM & SSD pricing relative to market). However, we consumers do NOT win by being the ones "but who pays the most corporate margin" consumers. Losing share demands competing to regain that share. Else, the endpoint is higher & higher prices to preserve that "but who makes the most profit" crown as they sell to fewer people... and, despite appearances to date, consumer pockets are generally not endless cash wells.

Super fat margins even at the loss of market share may be short-term shareholder delight 💰💰💰 But eventually, ANY company needs more buyers to buy than even fewer buyers to pay much more to keep the "another record quarter..." train rolling down the track.
You’ve successfully knocked down a fantastical extreme case straw man that you yourself erected.

Your argument is ipso facto wrong for the actual market share history I pointed out - Apple didn’t disappear then. Your fantasy scenario is likely similarly irrelevant now.
 
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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
1) Doesn’t make sense with XDR referring to high-end HDR support and performance (Dolby Vision HDR + HLG HDR support & stellar sustained and peak nits support) premium content consumers and creatives absolutely care about.

For budget phones maybe; that more has to do with manufacturing not wanting to rigorously supply such hard to manufacture panels at scale nonetheless.
 
Absolutely, and that used to be a thing here as well. Now, Americans often claim they want products produced domestically and cite faux patriotism, but that evaporates once something costs about 8 cents more than any alternative.

Citation: the sock drawer, closets, and desks of literally anyone in the USA.
Also don’t ignore the fact Americans have very affluent segments that merely want the best things no matter its orgins:

Porches, Eames Lounge Chair and other Herman Miller / Design Within Reach furniture; etc.

I find patriotism an archaic reason to buy
things or not; Beauty of America is to learn, grow, and earn money and apply skills in a global manner to live a lifestyle and acquire things that transcends being loyal to any country that doesn’t serve you.
 
Also don’t ignore the fact Americans have very affluent segments that merely want the best things no matter its orgins:

Porches, Eames Lounge Chair and other Herman Miller / Design Within Reach furniture; etc.

I find patriotism an archaic reason to buy
things or not; Beauty of America is to learn, grow, and earn money and apply skills in a global manner to live a lifestyle and acquire things that transcends being loyal to any country that doesn’t serve you.

Agree with your point but Herman miller is American. Maybe you’re thinking of Vitra which makes the Eames lounge chair as well.

Also boycotts work both ways. I’d argue that Chinese started to move away from iPhones after ZTE and Huawei were banned. And many Americans feel that it’s fair to ban TikTok because China made it hard for American internet companies to operate there.
 
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For the first time in years, Apple has fallen out of the top five smartphone vendors in China, ranking sixth in the second quarter of 2024.

iphone-15-lineup-store.jpg

Data from Canalys, a market research firm, shows that Apple's iPhone shipments in China declined by 6.7% year-on-year. This drop has been attributed to fierce competition from domestic brands such as Huawei, Vivo, Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi. Huawei, in particular, has seen a resurgence in the high-end smartphone market, fueled by advanced chips produced entirely in China.

Canalys reported that the overall Chinese smartphone market experienced a 10% year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2024, with shipments exceeding 70 million units. Vivo reclaimed the number one spot by shipping 13.1 million units, capturing a 19% market share. Oppo followed with 11.3 million units, Honor with 10.7 million units, and Huawei with 10.6 million units. Xiaomi re-entered the top five with a 17% year-on-year increase, shipping 10 million units. In contrast, Apple's shipments dropped to 9.7 million units, representing a 14% market share.

The increased competition and market dynamics in China have posed significant challenges for Apple. The company's market share decreased from 16% in the previous year to 14%, pushing it from third to sixth place. Despite promotional efforts, including significant discounts of up to 23%, Apple has struggled to maintain its market position. The competitive landscape has been further complicated by the overall growth of local vendors, which have benefited from their localized supply chains and strong brand loyalty among Chinese consumers.

Apple's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams recently visited China, meeting with officials in Beijing and Shenzhen to reinforce Apple's commitment to the Chinese market. Canalys analyst Lucas Zhong emphasized the importance of the company localizing Apple Intelligence for China within the next year to regain market share. The anticipated release of the iPhone 16 lineup later this year is also expected to drive demand and potentially improve Apple's market position.

Article Link: Apple Drops to Sixth Place in China's Smartphone Market
Yeh, and when did we start trusting data that comes out of China?
You do know that they're run by a ruthless communistic centralized authoritarian government, right?
They don't want their people using iPhones; they want them on their own tech.
 
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.
I have never noticed this before, and never read anything about it. But now you’ve pointed it out to me I can’t unsee it.
 
Wonder what Apple can do to regain market share. Maybe if the 17 models support 120Hz, sales could revive
 
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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
everything except 7 is true, we are not as patriotic as you would expect (in fact we make fun of people who buy Huawei for the sake of being Chinese).
And I have many issues I need to address here as an genuine Chinese
8. Overheating (smartphones that have snapdragon 8gen2 can attain a higher fps than A17 Pro because their heatspreading is better)
9. Grainy photos and unnatural skin tones
10. LTE/5G/call signal sucks in obstructed locations such as an underground parking lot
11. Lacks many small features: native long page screenshot via scrolling, call recording (recently added), app lock (recently added), more complex multitasking features,
 
I have never noticed this before, and never read anything about it. But now you’ve pointed it out to me I can’t unsee it.
I didn't put it there, so don't blame me 😇

It is a continual surprise to me how many people have become so acclimated to the home-bar that they don't even see it. I point out these discrepancies not to "trash" Apple but rather in hope that they fix them and make their product even better.

What troubles me is how many folks actually defend the home-bar to the extent that they attack even the idea of Apple providing an Accessibility Vision setting. Those of us who don't need or want the home-bar display ought to have the choice to disable/hide it. It's simple.

Apple has such marvelous devices, but often let little dysfunctional design decisions diminish it's wonderfulness for years on end. Many examples of such illogic exists: Game Center notifications pop up whenever you start a game even though you're signed out of it, the Music app will no longer allow you to use album art when creating new playlists, we don't have the ability to hide/unhide movies using the iPhone or iPad, etc.

Then many of their spokespeople double down in response to customer requests. Perhaps this is one of the side effects of being a "trillion dollar company". It can be frustrating dealing with Apple sometimes.
 
Americans would likely walk the walk if the situation was like it is in China, where domestic actually is cheaper.
True but that’s not really walking the walk. That’s just buying because it’s cheaper. iPhones are more expensive in China but people with money didn’t care about that.
 
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