Apple Likely Sold More iPhones in China Than in the U.S. Last Quarter

[MacRumors]

A day before the company is set to announce earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2015, Financial Times highlights a recent report suggesting Apple may report it sold more iPhones in China than in the U.S. for the first time ever.

According to analysts from financial firm UBS, China accounted for 36 percent of iPhone shipments in the most recent quarter, compared to 24 percent for the U.S. The analysts also compared the numbers to 2013, noting that a year before China accounted for only 22 percent of shipments with the U.S. at 29 percent.

Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin concurs with the UBS report, believing around 2 million more iPhones were sold in China than in the U.S. during the quarter. With the upcoming launch of the Apple Watch, he also believes it's just the beginning of the country's fiscal dominance over Apple sales.

"It's already been a good year, building up to the climax of this quarter," said Bajarin, referring to Apple's momentum in the world's largest smartphone market. "It leads to a lot more optimism for China . . . Their potential headroom in China is higher than it is here [in the US].

They will likely do more in China than US from here on out," he said. "It certainly shows how important the China market is to Apple's upside."

Apple has been emphasizing the importance of China for the company for some time, most recently meeting with the Chinese government to discuss data privacy and security, partnering with popular mobile payment service Alipay, and planning multiple Apple Store openings like the one in Chongqing opening this week.

On the distribution front, 2014 most notably saw a partnership between Apple and the world's largest carrier, China Mobile. The partnership allowed iPhones to be sold in 3,000 more cities where Apple previously had very little presence, undoubtedly aiding the Cupertino-based company rising Chinese in recent quarters.

Article Link: Apple Likely Sold More iPhones in China Than in the U.S. Last Quarter

 

[ToroidalZeus]

gg US economy

 

[coolfactor]

Reading this headline has me thinking "Finally, something to put Americans in their place!", but is China really that much better?

----------

I always wonder... do Asians cherish their devices like many of us Westerners do? Do they appreciate the design, the finesse, the elegance of a well-designed device, or is it just a tool to communicate and consume data?

 

[xionxiox]

Reading this headline has me thinking "Finally, something to put Americans in their place!", but is China really that much better?

----------

I always wonder... do Asians cherish their devices like many of us Westerners do? Do they appreciate the design, the finesse, the elegance of a well-designed device, or is it just a tool to communicate and consume data?

This is prob not the best place for social science class.

 

[MH01]

Reading this headline has me thinking "Finally, something to put Americans in their place!", but is China really that much better?

----------

I always wonder... do Asians cherish their devices like many of us Westerners do? Do they appreciate the design, the finesse, the elegance of a well-designed device, or is it just a tool to communicate and consume data?

its a tool to communicate and consume data for most westerners. What your describing is faboys, most normal users do not cherish a device! If anything Asians, are more into tech than your average westerner.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Reading this headline has me thinking "Finally, something to put Americans in their place!", but is China really that much better?

I think Apple will continue to favor the US, since it's a US based company. If this changes anything, it'll just mean China is the second most favored country, so gg UK (who I think Apple was previously treating at the number two market?)

 

[2457282]

I think the highest number I have read is 78million iphones. The consensus is lower. I dont know if the numbers will be split by country, but it will be interesting nonetheless to see what they report out tomorrow. The key number will be if they split out the 6 vs 6 plus as that will give us a gauge as to how big the phone will get. If the 6+ gets a huge number maybe we will see bigger phones in the future.

Another interesting number will be ipad sales. They have been declining of late, so if they report lower sales again, will that mean yes or no to the 12" ipad that has been rumored.

Lots to ponder. (not that it matters since Apple will do what Apple will do, but fun to play the guessing game at home)

 

[i5pro]

i think the numbers are skewed..based on the number of resellers buying up phones in the stores only to re-sell them in China at markups. It's probably significantly more phones sold in China than the report can accurately track.

 

[Jakexb]

If it was just a thing to consume data, they'd buy one of the cheaper Chinese android handsets.

 

[Rocketman]

I have been posting about this for a while now. Someone should ask Cook during the conference call what the China % penetration is now and what it is in similarly developed countries. Offer to take the question.

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[BigJayhawk]

gg US economy

Regardless, none of those profits will benefit the U.S. Economy because the I.R.S. Is better at border patrol here than the I.N.S.

I.R.S.: "Don't let that money that was born in another country come to the U.S. to work for US. keep it in those other countries where it can't do us any good. That is, of course, unless you want to give us another 30% tax on your already taxed self."

The U.S. treats foreign revenue worse than the "Coyotes" treat foreign immigrants. No wonder the foreign immigrants still cross the border and none of the foreign BILLIONS makes it into this country. (And to think, ONE of the two got an Executive Order -- it wasn't the one that would HELP OUR ECONOMY though.)

 

[filmantopia]

I always wonder... do Asians cherish their devices like many of us Westerners do? Do they appreciate the design, the finesse, the elegance of a well-designed device, or is it just a tool to communicate and consume data?

Well they pay the Apple premium. I would say they appreciate the design potentially more so than Westerners.

 

[allpar]

Regardless, none of those profits will benefit the U.S. Economy because the I.R.S. Is better at border patrol here than the I.N.S.

I.R.S.: "Don't let that money that was born in another country come to the U.S. to work for US. keep it in those other countries where it can't do us any good. That is, of course, unless you want to give us another 30% tax on your already taxed self."

The U.S. treats foreign revenue worse than the "Coyotes" treat foreign immigrants.

I just have to point out that the IRS only enforces rules made by Congress, and that Congress has cut their budget yet again.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

Regardless, none of those profits will benefit the U.S. Economy because the I.R.S. Is better at border patrol here than the I.N.S.

I.R.S.: "Don't let that money that was born in another country come to the U.S. to work for US. keep it in those other countries where it can't do us any good. That is, of course, unless you want to give us another 30% tax on your already taxed self."

The U.S. treats foreign revenue worse than the "Coyotes" treat foreign immigrants. No wonder the foreign immigrants still cross the border and none of the foreign BILLIONS makes it into this country. (And to think, ONE of the two got an Executive Order -- it wasn't the one that would HELP OUR ECONOMY though.)

It's complicated.

Apples effective tax rate because of all their tax dodging may be as low as 10%. In fairness a very successful corporation should have a tax rate above 40% (which is the highest income bracket) If Apple paid a "fairshare" of their taxes CA would have millions extra to invest into cash strapped systems like public education, The University of California.

On the flip-side it's been shown time and again that govt are incredibly wasteful. So I don't really blame corporations for not wanting to pay taxes.

In the end we the people suffer.

 

[Lazy]

It's complicated.

Apples effective tax rate because of all their tax dodging may be as low as 10%. In fairness a very successful corporation should have a tax rate above 40% (which is the highest income bracket) If Apple paid a "fairshare" of their taxes CA would have millions extra to invest into cash strapped systems like public education, The University of California.

On the flip-side it's been shown time and again that govt are incredibly wasteful. So I don't really blame corporations for not wanting to pay taxes.

In the end we the people suffer.

Or there's a good argument to be made that corporate tax rates should be very low and taxes collected from the profits collected by shareholders. (Whatever a corporation doesn't pay in tax is pure profit.) Regardless of where taxes are collected I'm pretty sympathetic to the argument that taxing corporate profits and then taxing what's left after it's passed along to shareholders is double taxation. Or at least a much higher rate than it looks like when looking at only one of those taxation points.

And what you call "tax dodging" wouldn't even be an issue if the US had sensible taxation policies for foreign income, like most other developed nations do.

 

[Moshe1010]

Reading this headline has me thinking "Finally, something to put Americans in their place!", but is China really that much better?

----------

I always wonder... do Asians cherish their devices like many of us Westerners do? Do they appreciate the design, the finesse, the elegance of a well-designed device, or is it just a tool to communicate and consume data?

How about using your phone to take phone numbers of girls? looks like you missed a feature.

 

[macs4nw]

If it was just a thing to consume data, they'd buy one of the cheaper Chinese android handsets.

Aptly put. If these preliminary sales figures turn out to be correct, the joining of China Mobile last year (with their over 800 Million subscribers) as an Apple partner, is probably what sealed the deal.

I might add, it's a known fact Chinese consumers are big on status symbols, much more so than we are. Factor in a population of give or take 1.4 Billion people, and this new reality, even though somewhat shocking, shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

[Deelron]

Regardless, none of those profits will benefit the U.S. Economy because the I.R.S. Is better at border patrol here than the I.N.S.

Not to mention the INS is pretty terrible at border control once it stopped existing (might want to refer to the CBP).

 

[Poisonivy326]

Aptly put. If these preliminary sales figures turn out to be correct, the joining of China Mobile last year (with their over 800 Million subscribers) as an Apple partner, is probably what sealed the deal.

I might add, it's a known fact Chinese consumers are big on status symbols, much more so than we are. Factor in a population of give or take 1.4 Billion people, and this new reality, even though somewhat shocking, shouldn't come as a surprise.

It's not a little known fact. In China there are discussions about this all the time: how there's a great disparity of wealth and that creates a craving for material possessions. There's even a term for spoiled, entitled, and very materialistic children: "little emperors."

In China "iphone factories" are also a common term and if you can afford an iphone that some of your countrymen have to make in a sweatshop, that's a big deal.

 

[MH01]

If it was just a thing to consume data, they'd buy one of the cheaper Chinese android handsets.

Cause it also comes down to the OS people prefer, and with Apple, maybe a status symbol? Your fooling yourself if you think these peope care about the specs etc.

There are many people that buy expansive items for show, they care less about the details of the item. Do you believe that the majority of people who own luxury cars, actually know the in and outs of thier car like a car fan? It's a means to get from a to b in comfort, and look good. Same goes for phones, why brands like vertu exist, it's just that an iPhone is the poor mans bling item.

 

[Zxxv]

Its a new market what do they expect?

A better comparison would be the original and 3G iPhone sales against these sales as a percentage but that probably takes too much work and effort.

 

[macs4nw]

It's not a little known fact......

Not to worry, but as I said, it's a known fact.....

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Analysts that said Apple couldn't compete in China without a cheap phone discover they're now #1 in China.

 

[macs4nw]

Analysts that said Apple couldn't compete in China without a cheap phone discover they're now #1 in China.

That's not quite correct. Apple sold more iPhones in China than they sold in the US, last quarter. That fact by itself doesn't make them #1 in China of course.