Apple's big-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus lead to massive gains in China as Samsung flounders

Posted:
in iPhone edited February 2015
A fresh report from research firm IDC published on Tuesday found Apple's share of the Chinese smartphone market nearly doubled over the fourth quarter of 2014, while rival Samsung saw its share further deteriorate as competing Android makers gained ground with low-cost device alternatives.




According to IDC, smartphone manufacturers shipped some 107.5 million units during the quarter ending in December, representing growth of 19 percent year-over-year.

Apple ended the quarter in second place with a 12.3 percent share of the Chinese market, a 99.7 percent boost from 7.4 percent of the market in 2013. The performance capped off a year of volatility for the iPhone, which in the third quarter dipped to 5 percent of the Chinese market.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi took the top spot after capturing a 13.7 percent marketshare, representing a whopping 150 percent gain year-over-year. Interestingly, Xiaomi's marketshare dropped from 14.8 percent in the third quarter of 2014, suggesting competing handset makers gained ground over the same period.

"Although the 3G phone shipments in China were affected by the reduction in operators' subsidy, the market was able to grow in 2014Q4 due to its growth in 4G phones," said Tay Xiaohan, senior market analyst at IDC Asia/Pacific's Client Devices team. "Also,while the share of phones sold through operators dropped, the number of phones sold through eTailers increased (share increased from single to double-digit YoY) due to the popularity of eTailers such as jd.com and tmall.com. Apple's launch of larger screen sized phones also helped to contribute to the increase in shipments."




Samsung, previously the number one player in China by a wide margin, fell to fifth place in quarter four, netting only 7.9 percent of the overall market. That number is down from 11 percent from the third quarter and 18.8 percent the year prior. Led by staunch Xiaomi supporters and Apple's larger iPhone models, Samsung saw its share of the booming Chinese market contract 49.9 percent year-over-year.

Filling out the top five were Huawei and Lenovo, which came in third and fourth with 11 percent and 9.5 percent of the market, respectively.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    Unit sales should be down this quarter but the assumed desire of the iPhone 6 Plus in China should help push the revenue and profits higher than might be expected due to the increased ASP. If the ASP isn't higher than the previous, holiday quarter, I'll be very surprised.
  • Reply 2 of 52
    Why does anyone believe in IDC number, especially the China numbers? Do they send people to Chengdu, Dalian, Zhengzhou or any other big (not mega) cities to check out the sales number?

    Or does IDC as usual just pull the number out of thin air (or worse from their client news release)?
  • Reply 3 of 52
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member

    Need to say more? 

  • Reply 4 of 52
    Is it a trend that when more iPhones are sold in the market, the overall average price of other phones start to increase as well (whether in china or other countries)?

    If this is the case, that is a very interesting market shift that could mean a couple good (or bad) things for manufacturers moving into the space and how they position themselves in response or towards pushing that trend.
  • Reply 5 of 52
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    One minute we're saying market share doesn't matter and the next we're saying it does. Which is it?
  • Reply 6 of 52
    ireland wrote: »
    One minute we're saying market share doesn't matter and the next we're saying it does. Which is it?

    Market share ONLY ever matters if you aren't sacrificing the IMPORTANT aspects of business to get it. The "race to the bottom" other companies do in order to seem like their winning is inline with some nutter pulling out all his adult teeth so he can see he's never had a cavity.
  • Reply 7 of 52
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    nobodyy wrote: »
    Is it a trend that when more iPhones are sold in the market, the overall average price of other phones start to increase as well (whether in china or other countries)?

    If this is the case, that is a very interesting market shift that could mean a couple good (or bad) things for manufacturers moving into the space and how they position themselves in response or towards pushing that trend.

    Doesn't work that way!. See the problem with Android is anyone can make a phone and slap Android on it. If I lived in China, why would I buy a expensive Android smartphone when there are a bunch off cheap in cost and just as good forked Android phones made ibn China? They have their own app stores so even Google is out of the picture. With Android it's been a race to the bottom in price and that's not going to just change because of Apple. If you want an iPhone running iOS, there's only a single option and that is to get Apple's iPhone. Sure you can buy clones running Android that look pretty close, but it's not the same. There is zero reason to buy a expensive Samsung Android phone. They've devalued their brand making ask their phones not only in plastic but they sell low cost and mid range phones. There not a last year's high end version like what Apple does.

    It's really just a completely different market. IPhone sales rise and Samsung sales drop. Apple is building its own stores and Samsung is doing nothing. This really is a major issue with Android. No one can make money from their phones after the sale like Apple, Google gets it from ads and their own app store and services. Android phones these days are all pretty much the same other then the skin. The same OS, the same cpu, etc. All that's left is gimmicks really.
  • Reply 8 of 52
    @ireland - you're right, Apple talks about marketshare when it suits them, but any other time they say market share doesn't really matter. I have a mac and iPhone, and love a lot of things Apple does but don't blindly follow them, and most of the time when I read an Appleinsider article, it seems to be written by a secret member of Apple's marketing team
  • Reply 9 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JBDragon View Post





    Doesn't work that way!. See the problem with Android is anyone can make a phone and slap Android on it. If I lived in China, why would I buy a expensive Android smartphone when there are a bunch off cheap in cost and just as good forked Android phones made ibn China? They have their own app stores so even Google is out of the picture. With Android it's been a race to the bottom in price and that's not going to just change because of Apple. If you want an iPhone running iOS, there's only a single option and that is to get Apple's iPhone. Sure you can buy clones running Android that look pretty close, but it's not the same. There is zero reason to buy a expensive Samsung Android phone. They've devalued their brand making ask their phones not only in plastic but they sell low cost and mid range phones. There not a last year's high end version like what Apple does.



    It's really just a completely different market. IPhone sales rise and Samsung sales drop. Apple is building its own stores and Samsung is doing nothing. This really is a major issue with Android. No one can make money from their phones after the sale like Apple, Google gets it from ads and their own app store and services. Android phones these days are all pretty much the same other then the skin. The same OS, the same cpu, etc. All that's left is gimmicks really.

     

    Well, I am not talking about Samsung only and high quality is not mutually exclusive to Apple. Why would I spend money on a decent Android smartphone when crops of cheap ones exist? Because I want a high quality phone that runs Android. It is exactly the same reason I, as an iOS user, chose to buy the iPhone 6 instead of an iPhone 4s in September (since Apple does not sell a low budget phone, I think the i4s has filled that role quite well). I wanted the highest quality phone running an OS I prefer. 

     

    Honestly, that is really shitty thinking, imo. Android does not suck because it is Android, and should be welcome competition when placed on hardware that is quality, in my book. You may not like it, I personally am not a fan, but there is a reason it is "good enough" for a lot of people. It is not a revenue black hole. It has a lot of opportunity when not bastardized by capitalism (get it?! ;]). Android allows for OEM growth. Android itself is not to blame.

  • Reply 10 of 52
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post



    One minute we're saying market share doesn't matter and the next we're saying it does. Which is it?

    You don't get it and those who say market share doesn't matter don't get it.

     

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Nobodyy View Post

     

    Honestly, that is really shitty thinking, imo. Android does not suck because it is Android, and should be welcome competition when placed on hardware that is quality, in my book. You may not like it, I personally am not a fan, but there is a reason it is "good enough" for a lot of people. It is not a revenue black hole. It has a lot of opportunity when not bastardized by capitalism (get it?! ;]). 


     

    Android sucks because it's a cheap immitation.

  • Reply 11 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cali View Post

     

    Android sucks because it's a cheap immitation.


     

    Android seems to suck now because it is seeded out on shit devices that hardly meet specs of feature phones before the Phonedustrial Revolution. Android seems to suck now because of lax regulations on OEMs and years of smeared marketing because at one point, it really did just suck.

     

    It really isn't that bad, man.

  • Reply 12 of 52
    pdq2pdq2 Posts: 270member
    Poor Sammy. It's fallen and it can't get up...
  • Reply 13 of 52
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cali View Post

     

    You don't get it and those who say market share doesn't matter don't get it.

     


     

    So... that sums it up, then?

     

    I think market share does not matter in the sense that that alone is not the reason to 'do' anything. If what got everybody at Apple out of bed in the morning was the prospect of greater marketshare it would truly be the end for Apple. But once you have designed a product you believe in it is important to sell it. You want people to buy and use your designs. The more the merrier. So in that sense market share matters. And then there is the money thing. Oh, and its fun to gloat. :) 

  • Reply 14 of 52
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    Now it's Samsung fans' turn to claim that marketshare doesn't matter.

     

    We all bend reality to fit our beliefs and desires, no?

  • Reply 15 of 52
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Nobodyy View Post

     

     

    Android does not suck because it is Android, and should be welcome competition when placed on hardware that is quality, in my book. You may not like it, I personally am not a fan, but there is a reason it is "good enough" for a lot of people. It is not a revenue black hole. It has a lot of opportunity when not bastardized by capitalism (get it?! ;]). Android allows for OEM growth. Android itself is not to blame.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Nobodyy View Post

     

     

    Android seems to suck now because it is seeded out on shit devices that hardly meet specs of feature phones before the Phonedustrial Revolution. Android seems to suck now because of lax regulations on OEMs and years of smeared marketing because at one point, it really did just suck.

     

    It really isn't that bad, man.


     

    Android is a revenue black hole. It's a disaster, a cheap knock off promoted by morons. It was always going to fail. It's even worse than Linux, which at least can be installed on whatever.

     

    And nice try blaming capitalism. You know, the thing that brought us the iPhone...:rolleyes:

  • Reply 16 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cali View Post

     

    You don't get it and those who say market share doesn't matter don't get it.


    So, clearly, you don't get it. ;) 

     

    Marketshare paints a picture but does not reveal the story.

  • Reply 17 of 52

    Android is a revenue black hole. It's a disaster, a cheap knock off promoted by morons. It was always going to fail. It's even worse than Linux, which at least can be installed on whatever.

    And nice try blaming capitalism. You know, the thing that brought us the iPhone...:rolleyes:

    Aren't you just a bunch of joy.
    Obviously you didn't get the joke, you don't understand why or how companies continue utilizing Android, and you don't appreciate the value of having a competitor like Android in the market.

    Good thing you're no in charge of Apple.
  • Reply 18 of 52
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Nobodyy View Post





    Aren't you just a bunch of joy.

    Obviously you didn't get the joke, you don't understand why or how companies continue utilizing Android, and you don't appreciate the value of having a competitor like Android in the market.



    Good thing you're no in charge of Apple.



    Apple had legitimate competitors. WebOS, Windows Phone 8, etc. Android should never have existed as it does. All it did was destroy most cell phone companies and leave a smoking crater in a large portion of the market. So no, you don't understand Android and why it was and is a terrible creation.

  • Reply 19 of 52
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cali View Post

     

    You don't get it and those who say market share doesn't matter don't get it.

     


     

     

    Market share is meaningful only when it confers some advantage not attainable otherwise. This could be economies of scale in manufacturing costs, visibility to consumers, ecosystem lock-in, greater profits, etc.  Let's look at each in turn...


     


    Economies of scale in manufacturing costs.  Android gains no appreciable advantage from selling many more smartphones at the low-end of the market versus Apple. Apple sells sufficient numbers of its phones to achieve enormous clout and economies of scale and associated price discounts in the manufacture of its products.


     


    Visibility to consumers.  Apple is arguably more visible to consumers than Android in its position as the more desirable brand, so again, no market share advantage for Android.


     


    Ecosystem lock-in.  The amounts of money earned by developers in the Apple ecosystem causes most developers to develop for iOS first, so no market share advantage to Android there.


     


    Greater profits.  Since Apple’s iPhone earns the majority of profits in the smartphone industry, with far less market share, even this metric doesn’t support an argument that market share has any meaning with respect to Apple’s position in this market.
  • Reply 20 of 52
    pistispistis Posts: 247member
    512ke wrote: »
    Now it's Samsung fans' turn to claim that marketshare doesn't matter.

    We all bend reality to fit our beliefs and desires, no?

    Market share doesn't matter if

    1) you have a 50% margin , which Samsung does not have

    2) you are not offering 2 for the price of 1 deals

    In both cases Samsung is in trouble and its profits are being squeezed because it's phones are not differentiated from phones costing half as much and as has been proven by their latest earnings unlike their so called shipped to Chanel claims.

    Fact the channel is swamped with unsold galaxy inventory which retailers are dumping at really low prices and can't sell many of. This is going to make it really hard to sell the new galaxy phones later this year even harder before the old stock is sold through.

    Samsung us in deep trouble and shareholders are starting to lose patience , trying to advertise your way out of this one Samsung!
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