iPhone 8 breaks Apple's decline in China, questions remain around iPhone X

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
This fall's launch of the iPhone 8 appears to have reversed six quarters of declining iPhone sales in China, in fact giving Apple 40 percent growth year-over-year for the September quarter, according to research estimates published on Monday.




Apple shipped approximately 11 million iPhones during the period versus 8 million a year ago, Canalys said. The firm also noted that the iPhone 8 represented a higher proportion of units than the iPhone 7 did at launch.

The situation is "only temporary" though, Canalys analyst Mo Jia argued. "The high sell-in caters to the pent-up demand of iPhone upgraders in the absence of the iPhone X. Price cuts on earlier models after announcing the iPhone 8 have also helped. However, Apple is unlikely to sustain this growth in Q4."

The iPhone X is believed to be generating excitement in China, but Jia suggested that its high cost and low supply will be "inhibiting." The device "will enjoy a healthy grey market status, but its popularity is unlikely to help Apple in the short term," he added.

The jump in shipments also continues to leave Apple in fifth place in the Chinese smartphone market. The top three vendors -- local giants Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo -- shipped 22, 21, and 20 million units in the September quarter, respectively.

Apple is due to publish official iPhone numbers on Thursday as part of its quarterly results. Typically though it only publishes overall shipments, rather than breaking them down region-by-region.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    But they do talk separately about sales in China, or at least they used to when they were rising, didn't they?
    asdasd
  • Reply 2 of 12
    Dave CummingsDave Cummings Posts: 43unconfirmed, member
    of course, CNet posts an article saying that the iPhone 8 sales are horrible in China....but CNet always seems to be ripping on Apple 
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 12
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Dave Cummings said:
    of course, CNet posts an article saying that the iPhone 8 sales are horrible in China....but CNet always seems to be ripping on Apple 
    Ironic that some accuse CNet of having a pro-Apple bias. Basically, anyone who says positive things while reviewing an Apple product must be an "Apple fanboy." There's no other explanation. It's not like Apple deserves praise, they'll say.
    caliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 12
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member
    flaneur said:
    But they do talk separately about sales in China, or at least they used to when they were rising, didn't they?
    I think it's got to the point where Apple is the only company providing a lot of this type of granular info to analysts. I think they should stop doing that. In fact, I would go a step further and say that Apple should stop providing earning/revenue guidance. Perfectly respectable companies have ceased that practice.
    caliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 12
    robjnrobjn Posts: 283member
    They argue
    “Apple is unlikely to sustain this growth in Q4”

    This defies all logic. There is every reason to expect sales to accelerate with the launch of iPhone X.

    Also it’s a misnomer to portray recent ‘declining’ sales figures in China as bad. The fact is that Apple has maintained it’s market share despite the much cheaper government sponsored competitors. The market is ripe for an iPhone 6 style explosion of sales.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 12
    ksecksec Posts: 1,569member
    Huh? iPhone 8 is selling like crap in China. That is why they are already offering discount!  May be they are doing well in US or EU. But China, Japan, Korea, HK, Taiwan , basically what is called Asia Region, iPhone 8 is doing shit. iPhone 7 though is selling quite well.

    iPhone X doesn't get much press in China at the moment, and it doesn't seems to generating as much excitement as expected, mainly because Apple seems to have allocated LOTS of stocks for China. But let see how it goes.

  • Reply 7 of 12
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    flaneur said:
    But they do talk separately about sales in China, or at least they used to when they were rising, didn't they?
    There’s the official statement and the Q&A. Sometimes they break things down more in the Q&A
  • Reply 8 of 12
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    SURPRISED! /s....everyone in China is waiting for iPhone X. You know Asian people...they’d rather have the latest design regardless the cost even if they have to sell a kidney for it! To them, the phone is not a gadget, but social status...like bling bling thing!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 12
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    ksec said:
    iPhone X doesn't get much press in China at the moment, and it doesn't seems to generating as much excitement as expected, mainly because Apple seems to have allocated LOTS of stocks for China. But let see how it goes.

    Check out social media, dude! I bet you that model X will be another hit in China...scalpers are everywhere now. I saw ads looking for the X on the first day and pay up to $2000 alrwady!
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 12
    unphocusunphocus Posts: 81member
    Apple sales bad in China. Apple sales good in China. All these talks from so called analysts are just talks to promote their own interests. They don’t talk about how much profits those top manufacturers selling in China. I just look at how much money Apple is taking in quarterly while others fight for scraps and be “best seller” 
    jbdragonSpamSandwichwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 12
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    “The situation is "only temporary" though, Canalys analyst Mo Jia argued. "The high sell-in caters to the pent-up demand of iPhone upgraders in the absence of the iPhone  X.”

    Wtf??

    So even though Apple isn’t doomed they're still doomed.

    suddenly newton said:
    Dave Cummings said:
    of course, CNet posts an article saying that the iPhone 8 sales are horrible in China....but CNet always seems to be ripping on Apple 
    Ironic that some accuse CNet of having a pro-Apple bias. Basically, anyone who says positive things while reviewing an Apple product must be an "Apple fanboy." There's no other explanation. It's not like Apple deserves praise, they'll say.
    I was called a “sheep” for presenting facts.

    FACTS...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 12
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    unphocus said:
    Apple sales bad in China. Apple sales good in China. All these talks from so called analysts are just talks to promote their own interests. They don’t talk about how much profits those top manufacturers selling in China. I just look at how much money Apple is taking in quarterly while others fight for scraps and be “best seller” 
    Yep. You get it.
    watto_cobra
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