Apple overtakes Nokia in China as iPhone brand, sales surge

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's smartphone brand has surged ahead of Nokia among Chinese buyers' preference for their next 3G handset, as more than a third express a preference for iPhone, twice that for Nokia's models.



A report published by Morgan Stanley and obtained by AppleInsider points to "a surge in iPhone growth" in China above and beyond the demand that has already made that country Apple's second largest market globally.



Apple's revenues in China grew from $3 billion in fiscal year 2010 to $13 billion over fiscal 2011, fueled by demand for iPhone 4, which China Unicom began selling in the third calendar quarter of last year.



Morgan Stanley says it believes "China could surpass the US as Apple's largest market in about three years, adding nearly $30 billion more per year to the top-line along the way."



Leading smartphone brand



In a September survey of 2,050 urban Chinese mobile phone users, Apple replaced Nokia as China's leading smartphone brand in the second half of 2011, as Apple increased its share by 6 percentage points to reach 34 percent of planned purchases, an increase in demand of 4 percent over the findings gathered six months ago in February and March.



In contrast, Nokia dropped 8 percentage points to make up just 16 percent of the nation's planned purchases, a decrease of 9 percent over the same period. Among other smartphone makers, third place Samsung grew by 7 percentage points, while fourth place Motorola remained static. Fifth place HTC also grew significantly by 14 percentage points, while RIM and Sony Ericsson continued to slide, dropping 3 and 4 points, respectively.



In the most recent quarter, Apple's share of Chinese mobile phone purchases retracted from 12 percent to 7 percent, but the report notes this is due to pent up demand for the iPhone 4S, citing an overwhelming preference among buyers as their next handset.







iPhone halo for Mac, iPod and iPad sales



The firm notes that sales of iPhones are also driving purchases of related Apple products, noting that Mac use is nearly four times higher among iPhone users, where Mac user share jumps to 35 percent from the standard 9 percent of the general population.



iPod use is also higher among iPhone users, with 63 percent of iPhone users buying iPods compared to 30 percent share among other smartphone users.



The research also noted that Chinese buyers overwhelmingly use iPhone 4, with 68 percent using the latest model, while 20 percent have an iPhone 3GS and just 13 percent have an iPhone 3G.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    moxommoxom Posts: 326member
    Sweet!
  • Reply 2 of 16
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    It's amazing how a market can change in such a short time frame.



    China Mobile's network is 1.5% iPhones (on EDGE) for their entire handset base. Just imagine if they release a GSM/TD-SCDMA iPhone for China Mobile. I think they will, too, which is another reason to buy more Apple stock after the next market drop.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    Looks like the Chinese buyers haven't heard of Nokia's recently announced Lumia 800 phone with WP 7.5 Mango. That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers. Windows Phone has come a long way



    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers.



    Not in the least. Windows Phone 7 is beautiful and I'm proud of Microsoft for doing their own thing for once.



    But the device isn't a competitor.



    Quote:

    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed



    I really, REALLY want to say that it is. I do. There's just a small fiber of me that says to hold off on that.



    Even though I have about five years of proof on my side and the evidence that even a "big iPod touch" can outperform every other tablet that has ever been built by any other company in the history of computing.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    Looks like the Chinese buyers haven't heard of Nokia's recently announced Lumia 800 phone with WP 7.5 Mango. That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers. Windows Phone has come a long way



    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed



    ...Or, just possibly, they have heard about it...
  • Reply 6 of 16
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    Looks like the Chinese buyers haven't heard of Nokia's recently announced Lumia 800 phone with WP 7.5 Mango. That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers. Windows Phone has come a long way

    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed



    1) As of today and the immediate future iPhone and iOS's success is guaranteed.



    2) I love the new Nokia Lumia 800 and WP7.5 but their success is not guaranteed. There fan base has dissolved into other platforms that were better.



    3) Four years ago the Lumias/WP7 would have kept Nokia and MS on top of the smartphone game, but it's a little too late fort that now. WP7's app store now has 30k apps which is plenty for getting a solid selection of apps for all types of users, but it's not just about numbers. Look at how Palm lost and couldn't come back with a great new device. It takes time and a great marketing plan to get people to come back home to their old favourites. It's like dating a really hot, but fraking crazy girl. Eventually you have to leave her but then later you'll find out she's gotten on meds, been through therapy, whatever, and she's now sane, non-destructive and productive. Did you go right back to her or were you a little weary about that prospect?
  • Reply 7 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    Looks like the Chinese buyers haven't heard of Nokia's recently announced Lumia 800 phone with WP 7.5 Mango. That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers. Windows Phone has come a long way



    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed



    LOL. Huh? How is Nokia's generic Windows Phone clone different from any of the other generic Windows Phone clones? Windows Phone is a total failure, as proven in the marketplace already.



    I agree, there are no sure things, well other than the failing of Windows Phone
  • Reply 8 of 16
    Yup.. We Chinese will buy any phone Apple has to offer..



    I was on my way to work this morning in a bus, and saw everyone on the last three rows of seats were playing with their iPhone 4.. Just a couple of years ago it was all Nokia



    Remarkable..
  • Reply 9 of 16
    It is incredible how iphone is taking over a country that was so brain washed on Nokia and Knockoff phone... Apple said that it has a secret sauce for the way they take their course of action, I just could imagine how much an invester would pay to know that.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    It's hard to remember smart phone before 2007. I also can't comprehend how people can either not have an iPod or use a different type of MP3 player.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    I find this iPhone demand article rather difficult to believe. Wall Street seems to be certain that Apple's iPhone growth is doomed in the long-term. iPhone growth is soon to be crushed by hundreds of millions of consumers buying low-cost Android smartphones. I continue to hear Wall Street constantly saying that Apple's revenue growth is totally unsustainable due to an abrupt drop in iPhone sales. So, if this iPhone demand was that obvious, then why is Wall Street saying otherwise and why does Apple's share price continue to lag behind analysts estimates? Apple can't even sustain a share price above $400 after passing that mark three times within the last few months. If potential iPhone gains were that certain, wouldn't the stock continue to climb? It's possible I don't understand market dynamics, but what else would be holding Apple back.



    I've recently read an article saying that Apple is still working on getting a contract with China Mobile and the iPhone could deliver as much as an added $70 billion over the next five years or so, but that's just pure speculation. I'm surprised that even Sprint's 30 billion unit iPhone deal didn't help boost Apple's share price since it would represent a guaranteed $20 billion over the next four years. That's not an insignificant amount of revenue.
  • Reply 12 of 16
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    Looks like the Chinese buyers haven't heard of Nokia's recently announced Lumia 800 phone with WP 7.5 Mango. That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers. Windows Phone has come a long way



    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed



    Nonsense! WP 7 has already been in the market for quite awhile and is an abject failure. Nokia has made a desperate move and will fail in its efforts. MSFT is irrelevant in the mobile space and will stay that way as consumers are more than happy to get out from under their overpriced, buggy, bloated third rate products. Especially when there are far superior options out there. WP7 is a horrible design that looks like it was created by someone with attention deficit disorder. Further, WP is a huge disconnect from a platform / ecosystem play like the iPhone. This has failure written all over it. They will continue to be a minor player.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post


    Looks like the Chinese buyers haven't heard of Nokia's recently announced Lumia 800 phone with WP 7.5 Mango. That phone & OS is a serious competitor to Apple and other phone makers. Windows Phone has come a long way



    I love iPhone & iOS but their success not guaranteed



    You might wait at least until there is an actual product to hype, and people can actually use it and evaluate it in person. Microsoft is notorious for making promises months in advance, then the actual product isn't half of what was promised. It happens again and again with Microsoft, and with other Apple competitors - remember how great Motorola's Honeycomb tablets were supposed to be?



    "Windows Phone has come a long way"? Not yet - there's nothing on the market. Or did you mean it's come a long way from selling millions to selling none?
  • Reply 14 of 16
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Constable Odo View Post


    I find this iPhone demand article rather difficult to believe. Wall Street seems to be certain that Apple's iPhone growth is doomed in the long-term. iPhone growth is soon to be crushed by hundreds of millions of consumers buying low-cost Android smartphones. I continue to hear Wall Street constantly saying that Apple's revenue growth is totally unsustainable due to an abrupt drop in iPhone sales. So, if this iPhone demand was that obvious, then why is Wall Street saying otherwise and why does Apple's share price continue to lag behind analysts estimates? Apple can't even sustain a share price above $400 after passing that mark three times within the last few months. If potential iPhone gains were that certain, wouldn't the stock continue to climb? It's possible I don't understand market dynamics, but what else would be holding Apple back.



    I've recently read an article saying that Apple is still working on getting a contract with China Mobile and the iPhone could deliver as much as an added $70 billion over the next five years or so, but that's just pure speculation. I'm surprised that even Sprint's 30 billion unit iPhone deal didn't help boost Apple's share price since it would represent a guaranteed $20 billion over the next four years. That's not an insignificant amount of revenue.



    Oh confused one... The fact is that the smart people on WS are saying no such thing. Further, Apple stock is hovering around $400 for two main reasons. SJ's untimely death was anticipated and factored into the share price as a big unknown as to how Apple will fare, but that will be answered very favorably I'm sure. Secondly, it is the institutional investors and hedge funds that have manipulated this stock to their advantage making 100's of millions of dollars in the process. It is their favorite and easiest stock to manipulate. With the weight of their investing power they move it up and down like a yoyo skimming significant profits each time. It is so easy because Apple is so secretive so the big investors can "play the market" with false rumors etc. very easily.
  • Reply 15 of 16
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,028member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Constable Odo View Post


    I find this iPhone demand article rather difficult to believe. Wall Street seems to be certain that Apple's iPhone growth is doomed in the long-term. iPhone growth is soon to be crushed by hundreds of millions of consumers buying low-cost Android smartphones. I continue to hear Wall Street constantly saying that Apple's revenue growth is totally unsustainable due to an abrupt drop in iPhone sales. So, if this iPhone demand was that obvious, then why is Wall Street saying otherwise and why does Apple's share price continue to lag behind analysts estimates? Apple can't even sustain a share price above $400 after passing that mark three times within the last few months. If potential iPhone gains were that certain, wouldn't the stock continue to climb? It's possible I don't understand market dynamics, but what else would be holding Apple back.



    I've recently read an article saying that Apple is still working on getting a contract with China Mobile and the iPhone could deliver as much as an added $70 billion over the next five years or so, but that's just pure speculation. I'm surprised that even Sprint's 30 billion unit iPhone deal didn't help boost Apple's share price since it would represent a guaranteed $20 billion over the next four years. That's not an insignificant amount of revenue.



    Unfortunately, AAPL is not immune from what moves the market in general. If you look at the times AAPL dropped below 400, the DOW, SP500 and NASDAQ took big hits on the down side. Until there are signs of an economic recovery here in the US and the easing of the debt crisis of other countries, AAPL will only move up and stay there on actual good news from Apple. Not speculation, no matter how good the source. Otherwise, expect AAPL to move 10% to 15% in either direction base on the movement of the market in general. AAPL would probably be over 420 today, if they didn't report that slight miss in iPhone sales. But if you really look into it, AAPL at $400, is only about 6% from it's all time high of $426. And the analyst share price estimate for AAPL is for 12 months out. Not the price it should be today, tomorrow, next week or next month.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by elroth View Post


    You might wait at least until there is an actual product to hype, and people can actually use it and evaluate it in person. Microsoft is notorious for making promises months in advance, then the actual product isn't half of what was promised. It happens again and again with Microsoft, and with other Apple competitors - remember how great Motorola's Honeycomb tablets were supposed to be?



    "Windows Phone has come a long way"? Not yet - there's nothing on the market. Or did you mean it's come a long way from selling millions to selling none?



    Windows Phone is already available from multiple carriers around the world. It was first released in 2010. Nokia is just another cloner which is going to make some Windows Phones. Their phones are the same as any other cloner, just with a different logo on them.
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