Apple's iPhone grows to 27.6% of Chinese smartphone market, led by iPhone 6

Posted:
in iPhone edited April 2015
The iPhone's share of the Chinese smartphone market rose to a new all-time high of 27.6 percent in a three-month period ending in February, driven primarily by sales of the iPhone 6, according to industry research data published on Thursday.




The new data, compiled by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, showed that the iPhone 6 was the best-selling individual smartphone in China with a 10.2 percent share, a figure which grew from 9.5 percent in a three-month period ending in January. The iPhone 6 Plus came in third place behind the Xiaomi RedMI Note.

Apple's overall share increased 9.7 percentage points year-over-year, enough to push Xiaomi down to second place among smartphone brands. Xiaomi is a native Chinese firm that has rapidly conquered much of the local smartphone market, having only released its first phone in 2011.

The iPhone also saw advances in the five major European countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) during the February quarter, with its share growing 2.9 percentages points year-over-year to 20.9 percent, at the same time as Android dipped 2.9 points to 67.6 percent. Kantar noted that iPhone 6 led in the crucial UK market, keeping ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S5, which saw increased sales despite Samsung preparing to launch the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.

Apple's U.S. phone marketshare declined year-over-year from 39.3 percent to 38.8. Here also the iPhone 6 was the best-selling smartphone, with buyers citing screen size, LTE support, and reliability and durability as the main factors in their shopping decisions. Notably, while only 45 percent of iPhone 6 buyers mentioned screen size, that figure reached 70 percent among 6 Plus owners.

The Chinese market has become extremely important to Apple. During the company's first fiscal quarter, revenue from all Apple products in the region topped $16.1 billion, approaching the $17.2 billion taken from Europe. The Americas were Apple's most important region though, well ahead at almost $30.6 billion.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member

    Wow!  And, whatever the Chinese is for "bravo".

    ...Just think what they could do if the Chinese government promoted a more level playing field. 

  • Reply 2 of 29
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    And this is why Apple will do whatever is needed to keep the Chinese market open to it.
  • Reply 3 of 29
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    I seem to remember that almost every pundit and analyst out there predicted China would be Apple’s Waterloo. They said the Chinese masses would not buy Apple’s premium hardware but would instead opt for cheaper Chinese knock-offs. They said Xiaomi would kill Apple in China.

     

    Do I remember this incorrectly? 

  • Reply 4 of 29
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Didn't analysts predict Apple would fail in China and the Chinese population is too poor? Why do they have jobs still?
  • Reply 5 of 29
    lkrupp wrote: »
    I seem to remember that almost every pundit and analyst out there predicted China would be Apple’s Waterloo. They said the Chinese masses would not buy Apple’s premium hardware but would instead opt for cheaper Chinese knock-offs. They said Xiaomi would kill Apple in China.

    Do I remember this incorrectly? 

    I remember that some people believed Apple would fail in China because of rampant counterfeiting and pricing pressure from cheap (Android) phones. The belief was that Apple couldn't play the "premium product" game there the way it works in "first world" economies. This argument originated from the tech press and Android bloggers, who projected their own values onto theoretical Chinese consumers.
  • Reply 6 of 29
    Marketshare doesn't matter. Profits matter.

    When Apple sells more - no matter what its marketshare is - it makes more money. That is what ultimately counts.
  • Reply 7 of 29
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     

    I seem to remember that almost every pundit and analyst out there predicted China would be Apple’s Waterloo. They said the Chinese masses would not buy Apple’s premium hardware but would instead opt for cheaper Chinese knock-offs. They said Xiaomi would kill Apple in China.

     

    Do I remember this incorrectly? 


     

    Nope, your recollection is 100% accurate, and if anything you are understating it. These are the same pundits and analysts that still get their opinions published to sites like this daily. 

     

    Also, Apple's incredible performance in China can be majorly attributed to Cook and his efforts there, another massive post-Jobs "failure". This shit doesn't happen by accident or naturally. 

  • Reply 8 of 29
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    lkrupp wrote: »
    I seem to remember that almost every pundit and analyst out there predicted China would be Apple’s Waterloo. They said the Chinese masses would not buy Apple’s premium hardware but would instead opt for cheaper Chinese knock-offs. They said Xiaomi would kill Apple in China.

    Do I remember this incorrectly? 

    Wrong. They predicted worse.

    They predicted Xiaomi would be the next "iPhone killer" and beat Apple GLOBALLY.
    This was predicted after ol' pal Sammy let them down
  • Reply 9 of 29
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jameskatt2 View Post



    Marketshare doesn't matter. Profits matter.



    When Apple sells more - no matter what its marketshare is - it makes more money. That is what ultimately counts.

     

    This is exactly what so many people don't understand.   If everything was Equal, market share might matter.  When Apple is making close to 90% of the Smartphone profits when Android has 80% of the Smartphones, That's pretty funny.

     

    Put it this way.  Apple Sells 1 iPhone and makes $50 profit.  Android (That's Everyone) Sells 1 ZILLION phones and breaks even.  Who wins?  Well Android users would say, Android with 1 ZILLION phones beating 1 phone.  To anyone with a brain, Apple won because they actually made a profit of $50.  Scale that up.  10 iPhones and 10 zillion Android phones.    Well I guess Android is Winning with 10 Zillion phones,.. oh wait, Apple made $500 and only had to make 10 phones.

     

    Apple is making most of the profits, Samsung comes in second at about 10% which basically leaves everyone else making NOTHING to very slim profits.  How long can that last?   Most of the phones Samsung sells are low end to Mid range and they aren't making much of a profit there and they're making most of the parts in their own phones!!!

     

    Being that as a Android phone maker, You have ZERO control of Android.  You can't offer your own services and try to make money after the sale that way.  Oh sure you can try, Samsung been trying that for a while and it's failed.   Everyone wants to use Google's services when using Android, and I don't blame anyone for that.  Why would they want to use someone else?  Who else really has a chance to go against Google with Android?  No one!! In fact Google is forcing everyone to put Google's services more up front and center then ever before.   The only place Google has almost no presence is in China!  Where it's mostly forked versions of Android and their own App store.  Why would anyone in China dump a bunch of money on a high end, expensive Android phone?  Cheap, big screen forked Android phones are all over the place.   It's NOT a iPhone!!!  

     

    The only other company that could be similar to Apple, Control the Hardware, the OS and the Services is Blackberry.  But they're had very poor leadership and to this day still do dumb things.  The Passbook, while not by thing was at least Innovative.  I would have liked to see more of that, instead of bringing back Old hardware with updated specs.  hardware that killed them in the first place.   I'd like Blackberry to eat up 10% of the Android market.  At this point in time, it's looking less and less likely to ever turn things around.  Android Phone maker can't just jump to Windows.  It's no better and the same hole.  I got this cheap 7" Windows 8.1 tablet to screw around with because they're practically giving them away!!!   My iPad is still far better.   Windows 8.1 on a tablet sucks as bad, maybe worse then it does on a Desktop.  I won't get into that here.

  • Reply 10 of 29
    I agree with everyone above who remembered how analysts wrote about how Apple would fail in China due to not having an Android cheap phone to see to the Chinese people. And, after Samsung imploded, the analysts rallied behind Xiaomi to kill the iPhone, Xiaomi is doing well, but nowhere near good enough to kill iPhone. Xiaomi killed Samsung's phones. Will analysts turn to Lenono next to kill the iPhone?

    We can look forward to Daniel writing another article about how wrong analysts were about the iPhone in China. ????
  • Reply 11 of 29
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    lkrupp wrote: »
    I seem to remember that almost every pundit and analyst out there predicted China would be Apple’s Waterloo. They said the Chinese masses would not buy Apple’s premium hardware but would instead opt for cheaper Chinese knock-offs. They said Xiaomi would kill Apple in China.

    Do I remember this incorrectly? 


    Nope you don't, I remember many that said that. Many said worse, the not so well travelled or educated I suspect. Many wrote that very few could afford such luxuries in China.
  • Reply 12 of 29
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jameskatt2 View Post



    Marketshare doesn't matter. Profits matter.



    When Apple sells more - no matter what its marketshare is - it makes more money. That is what ultimately counts.

    Yes, profits are great, and very healthy for a company.

    But marketshare still matters - the clout attendant with being a widely used,

    deeply penetrating "format" is a potentially powerful luxury that Apple survived for a long time without,

    but I bet they're pretty glad to have it - and to have it growing - now.

    (And there are a lot of related benefits and conveniences for their users, too.)

  • Reply 13 of 29
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by boredumb View Post

     

    Yes, profits are great, and very healthy for a company.

    But marketshare still matters - the clout attendant with being a widely used,

    deeply penetrating "format" is a potentially powerful luxury that Apple survived for a long time without,

    but I bet they're pretty glad to have it - and to have it growing - now.

    (And there are a lot of related benefits and conveniences for their users, too.)




    MArket share only matter up to a point. If your making no money, then it barely matters because your products will be crappier and crappier and more and more generic in every generation, and you'll have less and less money to invest in supporting your own ecosystem or customer service. Because you don't have the money to invest in R&D or better manufacturing/logistics ans software development (see PC market, Apple is also the profit leader in that market) you are doomed to low to non existent profits.

  • Reply 14 of 29
    paul94544paul94544 Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by cali View Post





    Wrong. They predicted worse.



    They predicted Xiaomi would be the next "iPhone killer" and beat Apple GLOBALLY.

    This was predicted after ol' pal Sammy let them down

    These clowns do what most people do,  who don't take the time to examine their assumptions. They simply believe what they hear at the water cooler without taking the time to really have one original thought in  their pathetic heads. Its called the herd instinct. Saying something that contradicts the conventional wisdom/peer group  is hard to do because the person doing it risks his credibility and career advancement. Playing it safe and being a "yes" man is precisely what unimaginative and uninspiring people do.  Life should be more about about questioning our assumptions and diving deeply into what is really happening. People who do it generally are more independent minded and become targets of the conventional wisdom. SJ is a particular example of what happens when one really thinks for oneself. Many people on here assume Apple can do no wrong. Not true. They made plenty of mistakes and even SJ admitted it as an essential part of being successful in life. All this stupidity quoiting SJobs from years ago saying 4 inches is the biggest iPhone size is total nonsense. He would  have been the first one to admit he is wrong (now)  and its okay to now make an iPhone 6+ (now). Everything evolves, nothing stays the same. These people assume that there is "perfection" (there isn't) They don't think. The world is full of fools like these. And that's completely okay.

  • Reply 15 of 29
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    27% is impressive. I assume this is 27% of •real• smartphones and not of phones that are smart simply because they can access the Internet.
    [Has this segment been clarified yet? "Smartphone," has historically been a rather nebulous phrase.] In any case Apple has done well in China. I've particularly surprised at their success with computers.
  • Reply 16 of 29
    I was in Shanghai on holiday last week and maybe it's the slightly stronger purchasing power, I don't know, but most of the locals I see use iPhones (especially the young working professionals in the Financial District)... With many others using China names like Lenovo and Xiaomi as well!
  • Reply 17 of 29
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member

    I wonder what the analysts are going put on their latest anal lists?

  • Reply 18 of 29
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by boredumb View Post

     

    Yes, profits are great, and very healthy for a company.

    But marketshare still matters - the clout attendant with being a widely used,

    deeply penetrating "format" is a potentially powerful luxury that Apple survived for a long time without,

    but I bet they're pretty glad to have it - and to have it growing - now.

    (And there are a lot of related benefits and conveniences for their users, too.)




    AFAIK, when Apple has much less market share than this the developers still developed for iOS first. It clearly matters little to them. Keep in mind that this is special case. For less market share product, it get the most profit *and* the best quality customers who's willing to spend. If you have two of those you'll care very little about market share. Of course, if your market share is growing while you didn't change the strategy like making much cheaper phone then you'll be more pleased.

  • Reply 19 of 29
    croprcropr Posts: 1,122member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matrix07 View Post

     



    AFAIK, when Apple has much less market share than this the developers still developed for iOS first. It clearly matters little to them. Keep in mind that this is special case. For less market share product, it get the most profit *and* the best quality customers who's willing to spend. If you have two of those you'll care very little about market share. Of course, if your market share is growing while you didn't change the strategy like making much cheaper phone then you'll be more pleased.




    Well I am an app developer for both iOS ad Android. I think you have a completely distorted picture of the profits of an app.  It cost on average aroud $50k to make an app, which means you have to collect around $70k to reach break even. Given the statistics of download and in app purchase,  90 % of all apps are loss making for the developer (but profitable for Apple and Google), and 1 % of the apps make huge profits. That is the harsh reality 

     

    For the 2 apps I have published for my own account, I get more revenue from Android (around 60%) than from iOS (around 40%). None of the 2 apps have reached break even.  The fact that is search function in the Apple App store is pretty bad, does not help.

     

    More and more companies want to have an app as part of their communication strategy (like they needed a website 20 years ago).  Here I make most of my income.  These apps are always free for the end user. All companies I work for request iOS and Android versions simultaneously and all detest the app verification by Apple, which is unpredictable and takes too long.  That last point is getting more and more important and combined with a lower market share could be driver for "Android first", because it is for companies difficult to setup an app launch event if they don't know when the app will finally arrive on the App store.

  • Reply 20 of 29
    heliahelia Posts: 170member

    Well everyone knew Chinese market would be a massive failure for Apple. Time to fire Tim and blah blah ;)

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