Apple's iPhone loses ground in 'urban China' for first time since 2014 - report

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in iPhone
Apple's smartphone marketshare in "urban China" dropped 3.2 percentage points year-over-year during the spring quarter of 2016 -- marking the company's first such decline in the region since August 2014, according to research data published on Wednesday.




Some sales were ceded to local giant Huawei, which reclaimed the top spot in the Chinese market with a 24.4 percent share, said analytics firm Kantar Worldpanel. Two other local brands -- Meizu and Oppo -- also grew, each taking an approximate 6 percent share. Apple held second place with 22.2 percent.

It's not immediately clear what the research group means by the term "urban China," but Kantar nevertheless suggested that the iPhone SE, which shipped in China on March 31, could potentially revive Apple's fortunes.

"There are also significant numbers of potential buyers, particularly in China, who may not be able to afford the high price of a flagship iPhone but may find that the iPhone SE lets them take their first step into the Apple ecosystem," the firm wrote.

The SE is still an expensive proposition for many Chinese -- starting at 3,288 yuan, or roughly $507 -- but substantially cheaper than an iPhone 6s, which costs at least 5,288 yuan, or $815.

For Apple maintaining Chinese marketshare is crucial. Assuming sales persist, the region is poised to eclipse the Americas in terms of revenue.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    Both Android and iOS are getting mature at this point and there are very few differences in user experience unless you are already part of the Apple ecosystem, have other Apple devices or friends with Apple devices who you communicate with regularly. Aside from the superiority of Facetime and iMessage, I imagine both platforms are probably about the same from a software perspective, although one big advantage for iOS is the security of the App Store and the ease of OS updates. Clearly, Apple devices are second to none in build quality and are more of a status symbol, which is important to some, but if Android is a lot cheaper and the usability is almost as good, I can see why budget conscious buyers might be attracted to Android phones. Also, at the moment, China is in a slight down turn economically, so that may be a factor as well.

    Personally, I love FaceTime audio. So much better than regular phone calls. Same with iMessage. 
    cnocbui
  • Reply 2 of 28
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,292member
    volcan said:
    Both Android and iOS are getting mature at this point and there are very few differences in user experience unless you are already part of the Apple ecosystem, have other Apple devices or friends with Apple devices who you communicate with regularly. Aside from the superiority of Facetime and iMessage, I imagine both platforms are probably about the same from a software perspective, although one big advantage for iOS is the security of the App Store and the ease of OS updates. Clearly, Apple devices are second to none in build quality and are more of a status symbol, which is important to some, but if Android is a lot cheaper and the usability is almost as good, I can see why budget conscious buyers might be attracted to Android phones. Also, at the moment, China is in a slight down turn economically, so that may be a factor as well.

    Personally, I love FaceTime audio. So much better than regular phone calls. Same with iMessage. 
    If you believe even HALF of what you just wrote there, you're not in touch with reality, and have no real grasp about the massive fundamental differences between iOS, and that garbage called Android.
    kevin kee
  • Reply 3 of 28
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,273member
    sog35 said:
    There is still a huge gap between an iPhone and a $100-$300 cheap Android.


    iPhone units are down because the iPhone6 cycle was a one time event. Massive multi-year pent up demand for a larger iPhone
    Funny how it took 18 months for that drop to show up, sog ... I see the war involving you and reality continues unabated ... you go girl!
    singularity
  • Reply 4 of 28
    waterrocketswaterrockets Posts: 1,231member
    sog35 said:
    volcan said:
    Both Android and iOS are getting mature at this point and there are very few differences in user experience unless you are already part of the Apple ecosystem, have other Apple devices or friends with Apple devices who you communicate with regularly. Aside from the superiority of Facetime and iMessage, I imagine both platforms are probably about the same from a software perspective, although one big advantage for iOS is the security of the App Store and the ease of OS updates. Clearly, Apple devices are second to none in build quality and are more of a status symbol, which is important to some, but if Android is a lot cheaper and the usability is almost as good, I can see why budget conscious buyers might be attracted to Android phones. Also, at the moment, China is in a slight down turn economically, so that may be a factor as well.

    Personally, I love FaceTime audio. So much better than regular phone calls. Same with iMessage. 
    There is still a huge gap between an iPhone and a $100-$300 cheap Android.

    iPhone units are down because the iPhone6 cycle was a one time event. Massive multi-year pent up demand for a larger iPhone
    Well, you can get a Nexus 5x for $200 now, with a one-month ($20) commitment to Project Fi.

    http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/iphone/iphone-6s-vs-nexus-5x-3627323/


  • Reply 5 of 28
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Skeptical of "urban China". They could have gerrymandered this population to fit their preconceived agenda. 
  • Reply 6 of 28
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    Do you know anything call seasonal effects.. No big deal.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    magman1979 said:

    If you believe even HALF of what you just wrote there, you're not in touch with reality, and have no real grasp about the massive fundamental differences between iOS, and that garbage called Android.
    If you don't mind me asking, what are the massive fundamental differences? I ask because I see colleagues happily using their Android phones without any apparent problems. I personally have never used one, but they seem to have all the same features that an iPhone has, other than the differences that I noted. To me it seems logical that they would have the same feature set because Android is pretty much an exact copy of iPhone.
    edited April 2016 saltyzipjony0
  • Reply 8 of 28
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member

    "Urban China" is just a new way for some stupid analysis to cut the data in a way to tell a story line they want people to hear. As most people do who have no appreciate for the real numbers (sorry made up number since no company other than Apple publishes their actual number) they will ignore the statement about "Urban China" and say oh Huawei is beating everyone in China.

    I like how they say that apple lost ground this spring, I think Sping is only 3 week in and they already lost for the entire spring.

    jony0
  • Reply 9 of 28
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    The problem I he with this shitty so call analysis is that it seems to have no clue about what Apple actually did that would have impact on sales, like changing the god damn release date in China.... That would have a massive impact on spring sales hey!

    In the US, Apple has always lost ground in sales in the spring for many years when Samsung and others released their phones, except last year.
    With the early release of phones in China, we got the exact same fracking thing.

    Also wonder how fracks earth can they get spring numbers for 2.5 weeks, not even sure Apple would have those numbers!

    So, basically this thing is a narrative building piece of crap.

  • Reply 10 of 28
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    jungmark said:
    Skeptical of "urban China". They could have gerrymandered this population to fit their preconceived agenda. 
    They have such an obvious anti-Apple 'agenda' that DED quotes them when they show iOS marketshare gains: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/07/29/ios-phone-share-growing-faster-than-android-in-us-uk-and-france

    And again: http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/12/03/huge-iphone-6-sales-drive-ios-to-40-smartphone-market-share-in-australia-us-uk-japan

    AI uses them as a basis for a story here, with no mention or warning of this agenda you imply: http://forums.appleinsider.com/discussion/187514/iphone-share-strong-in-europe-other-markets-softening-in-us-kantar-study-suggests

    In other words they only have an 'agenda' when you don't like what they are reporting.



    singularitysirlance99
  • Reply 11 of 28
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    sog35 said:

    first of all iPhone guarantees you OS updates for a very long time.
    blah, blah, blah...
    That is a difference which I noted, along with build quality from in my first post.

    None of the other things you mention pertain to my comment because none of your points has anything to do with 'feature sets' which was the emphasis of my remarks. I never said buying an Android is smart or better in any way other than price and that was my conclusion as to one possible reason people are attracted to Android.

    Jeez, people get so riled up. Unless you unequivocally denounce Android as complete garbage you get flamed around here. If Android was complete garbage it would not exist. Now with the obligatory car analogy. If Android was complete garbage it would have gone the way of the Yugo. It may be more like a Hyundai, but just because I drive a German luxury car doesn't mean that a Hyundai is complete garbage. It carries the groceries and the kids just as well as my luxury car and because it is less expensive there are people who consider that, among other things, in their purchasing decision.
    edited April 2016 saltyzipjony0
  • Reply 12 of 28
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    sog35 said:
    volcan said:
    If you don't mind me asking, what are the massive fundamental differences? I ask because I see colleagues happily using their Android phones without any apparent problems. I personally have never used one, but they seem to have all the same features that an iPhone has, other than the differences that I noted. To me it seems logical that they would have the same feature set because Android is pretty much an exact copy of iPhone.
    first of all iPhone guarantees you OS updates for a very long time.

    Cheap Android phones usually are running an old version of Android and rarely get updated.
    Second Android phones are full of security holes. Ever wondered why the FBI never requested Google to write a backdoor for Android?
    Third cheap Android phones are made of cheap parts. Many die and start having hardware problems in less than a year.  How many 2+ year old cheap Android phones do you see in the wild? I rarely see any because after 2 years most of them are unusable because of hardware failure or the OS is so old and outdated.

    And don't forget to factor in resale.

    You will be able to buy a 6s for $550 in a few months when the 7 comes out.
    You can buy a cheap Android for about $200.
    In 2 years the 6s will be able to fetch $200 
    The cheap Android will get $0.
    So basically you paid only $150 more for the iPhone when you factor in resale.

    Is it really worth it to save literally 21 cents a day to live with a clearly inferior Android phone?  
    Just about everything you wrote was hardware related, and you only chose the cheap Android phones. The difference between the OSs was what was being discussed, and you redirected to fit your agenda. 
    saltyzipsingularitysirlance99
  • Reply 13 of 28
    There is another reason beyond price or even preference for Android that affects phone buying decisions in China. I was in Shanghai earlier this year, and while my experience was certainly limited, there were a couple of occasions with different people where they slipped in a mention that their phone (usually Huawei) was from a Chinese company. So nationalistic reasons are a factor too.

    Still, I did see a heck of a lot of iPhones when on public transportation there.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    volcan said:
    sog35 said:

    first of all iPhone guarantees you OS updates for a very long time.
    blah, blah, blah...
    That is a difference which I noted, along with build quality from in my first post.

    None of the other things you mention pertain my comment because none of your points has anything to do with 'feature sets' which was the emphasis of my remarks. I never said buying an Android is smart or better in any way other than price and that was my conclusion as to one possible reason people are attracted to Android.

    Jeez, people get so riled up. Unless you unequivocally denounce Android as complete garbage you get flamed around here. If Android was complete garbage it would not exist. Now with the obligatory car analogy. If Android was complete garbage it would have gone the way of the Yuzo. It may be more like a Hyundai. Just because I drive a German luxury car doesn't mean that a Hyundai is complete garbage. It carries the groceries and the kids just as well as my luxury car and because it is less expensive there are people who consider that, among other things, in their purchasing decision.
    Yuzo? You're talking about the Yugo?
    Android is closer to someone trying to build a Porsche with the spare parts from a Hyundai;
     if they didn't try to do that I'd be perfectly fine with them being the Hyundai of phones.
    They're a perfectly fine, if unexciting option, like eating corn beef, or spam in a can ;-).
    Yes, I'm embarrassed, I sometimes do that :-).


    edited April 2016 kevin kee
  • Reply 15 of 28
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    foggyhill said:

    Android is closer to someone trying to build a Porsche with the spare parts from a Hyundai;
     if they didn't try to do that I'd be perfectly fine with them being the Hyundai of phones.
    They're a perfectly fine, if unexciting option, like eating corn beef, or spam in a can ;-).
    Yes, I'm embarrassed, I sometimes do that :-).

    I am not really addressing much about the quality of the hardware, mostly just OSs. The hardware differences is where you get into the price disparity, but when comparing just Android to iOS, the similarities are far greater than the differences. 
    edited April 2016
  • Reply 16 of 28
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    comparing with the burst sale of iPhone 6 is more than just ignorant.
  • Reply 17 of 28
    saltyzipsaltyzip Posts: 193member
    Lots of people referencing android security and FBI, I guess people need to educate themselves as Google has been asked by the FBI to unlock phones too, I guess Apple have just taken a stance this time and brought the issue out into the open.

    http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/30/11330892/fbi-google-android-unlocking-phone-court-order

    http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/03/30/472391092/apple-google-ordered-to-unlock-smartphones-since-at-least-2008
  • Reply 18 of 28
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    sog35 said:

    So you don't value privacy?
    Ever wonder why the FBI never went to court to force Google to write a backdoor for Android?
    And who knows what the heck Google is doing with all your data.

    And what good is a great OS if you can't get an update on it?
    I've owned an Android phone and tablet in the past.  If you haven't you won't understand. It was a totally buggy, frustrating, and horrible experience. Apps constantly crashed, Apps stopped worked because of no OS update. Very choppy scrolling and incredibly hard to use menus.
    You are really getting too emotional about this and not looking at it from the perspective or context of the article. It is about low end Chinese purchasing behavior. My original remarks were such that the Android user experience may be good enough for the low end buyer in China, especially when considering the perceived price differential not necessarily the total cost of ownership.

    As far as security is concerned, the FBI may have contacted Google, we don't know. What we do know is they didn't need Apple to create a backdoor, so perhaps the security is not as good as you think. The general public never really concerned themselves about the security of their phone anyway until perhaps recently with the news about hacking the SB terrorist's phone. And, apparently they don't worry too much about Google harvesting their data either because they continue to use Google, Gmail, services, search, advertising in the millions. 

    You are trying to read too much into my comments. I'm simply exploring various scenarios where a Chinese consumer may decide to purchase an Android phone over an iPhone. It has nothing to do with ultra geeky technical reasons why one is better than the other. The Chinese consumer realizes that the iPhone is the best you can get, but for reasons of their own they may decide to buy an Android instead. I'm not being an Android apologist. I could never see myself using one. I'm all Apple from computers to phones and everything in between.
    edited April 2016
  • Reply 19 of 28
    saltyzipsaltyzip Posts: 193member
    sog35 said:

    Well, you can get a Nexus 5x for $200 now, with a one-month ($20) commitment to Project Fi.

    http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/iphone/iphone-6s-vs-nexus-5x-3627323/


    The 5x is a decent phone but it isn't the level of an iPhone.

    Keep in mind the 5x is almost 6 months old so you are only guaranteed 12 months of OS updates. If you only keep your phones for 12 months then maybe its a decent deal.

    But that cheap price also highlights a major weakness in Android phones - resale. With iPhones you get $100-$300 more in resale value and that makes up most of the difference in initial cost.  With that in mind you are actually only paying about $100 more over 2 years getting an iPhone. We are talking pennies a day.

    iPhone 6s $550
    Nexus 5x $220

    iPhone resale after 2 years- $200
    Nexus 5x resale after 2 years - $0

    iPhone additional cost to own $130
    Cost to own per day over Nexus - 18 cents a day

    Just wanted to correct some inaccuracies in the post above:

    https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en-GB

    Android updates

    Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 6, Nexus 5, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 9 and Nexus 10 devices get the latest version of Android directly from Google. These devices will receive Android version updates for at least two years from when the device first became available on the Google Store.

    Once an update is available, it can take up to two weeks for it to reach your device. Based on your operator, it may take longer than two weeks after release to get an update.

    Security patches

    Nexus devices will also receive updates for security issues documented in ourPublic Nexus Security Bulletins for at least the following periods:

    • Three years from when the device first became available on the Google Store
    • Or, 18 months after the device stopped being sold on the Google Store

    You can see when your device last received a security patch:

    1. Open your device's Settings app Settings.
    2. Scroll to the bottom and touch About phone or About tablet.
    3. Under "Android security patch level," you'll see the date of your device's latest security patch.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    volcan said:
    foggyhill said:

    Android is closer to someone trying to build a Porsche with the spare parts from a Hyundai;
     if they didn't try to do that I'd be perfectly fine with them being the Hyundai of phones.
    They're a perfectly fine, if unexciting option, like eating corn beef, or spam in a can ;-).
    Yes, I'm embarrassed, I sometimes do that :-).

    I am not really addressing much about the quality of the hardware, mostly just OSs. The hardware differences is where you get into the price disparity, but when comparing just Android to iOS, the similarities are far greater than the differences. 
    The fact it gets at least 50% less performance out of the same hardware tells you that's NOT the case.
    Android is still not smooth even on the S7, which is embarrassing to Google (not Samsung), and yes I've actually used it.
    That things like encryption, which is very old hat for IOS, barely arrived now also tells you that they are quite different.

    If they are "alike" it is only superficially. The difference comes from the fact Apple has control of the whole stack and Android does not; that has much impact on what can be done in the Android OS.

    I'm not dogmatic though, it has its use. I laugh though at people calling it open; that's a total crock nowadays even if initially it could be argued.
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