Apple on the rise in China
The latest figures from the Wall Street Journal
show that Apple is starting to become more widespread in China. The
world’s largest mobile market, China has long been the bastion of
low-cost Android alternatives from Asian manufacturers like Huawei and
Lenovo.
However Apple’s market share
in China went up from 6% in Q3 of last year to 7% in Q4. This currently
puts the Cupertino company 5th amongst smartphone vendors.
That ranking is expected to increase for this quarter, as we’re barely a month removed from Apple’s deal with China Mobile. The country’s largest carrier has just started selling iPhones to its 760 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, Samsung continues to hold the top position
in China with 19% market share as of last quarter, while Lenovo comes
in second at 13%. Coolpad and Huawei come in third and fourth at 11% and
10%, while upstart manufacturer Xiaomi is hot on Apple’s heels in sixth
position with 6%. Analysts argue that Xiaomi is expected to continue to
grow, and could overtake Apple if the China Mobile deal doesn’t deliver as expected.
Still, Apple has gone on record to indicate that market share does
not determine the success of its brand. Rather, the high-end smartphone
sector is what Tim Cook has recently stated is important to the tech
giant, rather than competing amongst “feature phones,
[or] smartphones that function as or are used as feature phones.”
Still, with IDC analysts predicting less future growth in the premium smartphone market due to new users coming from smaller cities and rural areas, Apple may have a hard time staying in the top five.
Labels: Tech
