iOS Drops to Lowest Share of China Smartphone Market in Nearly Three Years

[JPack]

Chinese consumers are getting tired of iPhones when domestic products from Huawei and Xiaomi have much better marketing and retail presence. For example, the Huawei Mate 9 has a bigger display than iPhone 7 Plus and significantly better battery life and costs about the same.

Chinese consumers are getting richer every year. It's not about the money. German luxury cars sales in China have outstripped those in the U.S. for the past several years. iPhone simply no longer offers the same wow factor as before to demanding Chinese consumers.

 

[citysnaps]

And Apple will still sell 220+ million iPhones over the year. Life goes on...

 

[tooltalk]

Wow Spain is Android country.

Spain, Italy, Germany, France etc ... pretty much everywhere outside US, Japan, and the UK, Apple's share is small.

 

[Zaft]

Spain, Italy, Germany, France etc ... pretty much everywhere outside US, Japan, and the UK, Apple's share is small.

Well in the others android is around 70% but in Spain its really up there at 90.

 

[Mrjoedot]

Apple is high-end brand. Cannt compare to Vivo or Oppo

 

[belvdr]

The data is confusing. They list the EU5, which is France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. However, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain have individual sections.

Is the EU5 section an average of all five countries or just Northern Ireland?

Apple is high-end brand. Cannt compare to Vivo or Oppo

They are mobile phones and are marketed to consumers who are purchasing mobile phones. I would argue they can be compared when it comes to market share.

 

[Gherkin]

Not surprising, China has some very cheap android phones. It's hard to compete when you're trying to sell the most expensive option.

I think it's not that simple. Most countries have very cheap options. I think it may be more of a cultural thing where China has pride in homegrown brands and would rather support those. Plus I remember a NYT article where Chinese became bored with the iPhone design after 3 years of the same thing.

 

[macTW]

And apple cares... why? Let's see the breakdown by income level before saying apple is doomed. Much of that android market is low income, a market apple doesn't even try to touch.
[doublepost=1492099246][/doublepost]

They are mobile phones and are marketed to consumers who are purchasing mobile phones. I would argue they can be compared when it comes to market share.

Would you say Mercedes benz should be compared to Honda, or tommy Bahama to old navy? What about local taqueria versus chipotle? It's completely clear that apple shouldn't be compared to low income-targeting cheap phones. Apple doesn't have ads in those neighborhoods, the content of the ads is targeted to certain income levels and lifestyles, all while cheap phones have very clearly different ads all about the cheapness.


Its completely absurd, void of logic, to compare apple to cheap phones.

 

[belvdr]

And apple cares... why? Let's see the breakdown by income level before saying apple is doomed. Much of that android market is low income, a market apple doesn't even try to touch.
[doublepost=1492099246][/doublepost]

Would you say Mercedes benz should be compared to Honda, or tommy Bahama to old navy? What about local taqueria versus chipotle? It's completely clear that apple shouldn't be compared to low income-targeting cheap phones. Apple doesn't have ads in those neighborhoods, the content of the ads is targeted to certain income levels and lifestyles, all while cheap phones have very clearly different ads all about the cheapness.

Its completely absurd, void of logic, to compare apple to cheap phones.

In terms of market share, sure they can be compared, but I don't know the last two analogies. Honda and Benz overlap in some markets with their Acura brand.

Apple has said they want to increase their presence in China. How can anyone gauge their progress if they don't compare data?

 

[elmaco]

Biggest problem for countries outside US is the strong dollar.

If a dollar would cost the same in euro as three years ago, an iPhone would be 30% cheaper. If the dollar was the same as in 2008, it would be 50% cheaper.

 

[macs4nw]

Time to try out India Tim

With India's restrictions on the sale of non-locally produced goods, that has until recently been a difficult road.

 

[ktecac]

Time to go back to computers?

 

[TheHateMachine]

Time to go back to computers?

This is Apple we are talking about here.

 

[tongxinshe]

So is Apple selling less iPhones year over year or is the Chinese smart phone market expanding with people that would not have a smart phone acquiring a free android phone?

There is no such thing as "free phone" in China, the cellular carriers in China do their business in a very different way from those in the US.

 

[H2SO4]

Apple is high-end brand. Cannt compare to Vivo or Oppo

They still need to be careful. Remember the fright that the Germans got when the LS400 was released. Yes, that Toyota.

 

[StevieD100]

Biggest problem for countries outside US is the strong dollar.

If a dollar would cost the same in euro as three years ago, an iPhone would be 30% cheaper. If the dollar was the same as in 2008, it would be 50% cheaper.

Or the weakness of other currencies perhaps?
The £/$ rate changed considerably on the 24th June last year. Apple products are a heck of a lot more expensive in the UK as a result. Like Oil and Gold which are priced in USD we have to grit our teeth and bear it.

 

[Marx55]

Worldwide figures? Anyway, Apple should use standard ports (USB) in all iOS devices, with full access to files via USB pendrives, Mac (connected to USB port), fully accesible operating system (as Mac), not sandboxing and not jailing.

 

[Asarien]

All anyone has to say is, "China's not buying iPhones.

Watch Uncle Timmy now jump up and actually do some innovation in response.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Tim isn't leaving enough $ under his chair when he leaves his carrier negotiations over there.

 

[Wowereit]

These cheap android phones are available in usa too. I suspect it is because there is no iphone upgrade program in China.

No, they aren't.
There are giants like Xiaomi or BBK selling millions over millions of phones to China and some other Asian markets more or less exclusively.

When you get a 130$ Android phone in the US or Europe, it's pure garbage.
When you get a 130$ Android phone in China, it's easily comparable to a 350$ mid-range device with aluminium unibody, 1080p display, 4000 mAh battery, dual SIM, and SD card.

 

[marty11]

What's more important, market share or profit? They're not mutually exclusive, but they're not the same either.

I'd say market share because that translates to more people using your product and spending money within your ecosystem.

 

[dampfnudel]

Time to try out India Tim

If China doesn't work out, neither will India.

 

[MH01]

This is mostly due to Chinese government interference. Everyone would buy Apple, if they were able to and had the money!

My government gets in the way of me driving a Ferrari

lets be honest everyone would buy a Ferrari if they could..... though most of use just need a car, not a bling status.

 

[Michael Scrip]

It’s about time that somebody comes along and says that market share is unimportant isn’t it? Anyhow, hopefully this is the wake up call that Apple need.

eh... market share isn't as important as some people think it is.

Market share is a report card at the end of the quarter... showing what percentage each company and/or platform has over a period of time.

But let's not forget that Apple can sell 200 million smartphones in a year... which makes them the #2 smartphone OEM in the world.

If you look at that... Apple's not doing that bad after all... are they?

I'm sure market share matters to someone... but not me.

It might shock people to know that Honda only has 6% of the worldwide automobile market. Pathetic, right?

Yet no one is saying "Honda is doomed" because of their pitiful single-digit market share...

 

[Queen6]

Chinese consumers are getting tired of iPhones when domestic products from Huawei and Xiaomi have much better marketing and retail presence. For example, the Huawei Mate 9 has a bigger display than iPhone 7 Plus and significantly better battery life and costs about the same.

Chinese consumers are getting richer every year. It's not about the money. German luxury cars sales in China have outstripped those in the U.S. for the past several years. iPhone simply no longer offers the same wow factor as before to demanding Chinese consumers.

Absolutely correct, from an expat who has over 15 years experience of living in Mainland China. My observation is ever more are shedding the iPhone, nor is the price point an issue in my circles...

Q-6