Apple becomes top smartphone vendor in China for the first time

[F-22Raptor]

For the first time ever, Apple is the top smartphone vendor in China, according to a new report from research firm Canalys.

Here's the note from Canalys:

The incredible popularity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in China in Q4 2014 has led Apple to take first place in the Chinese smart phone market for the first time by units shipped. This is an amazing result, given that the average selling price of Apple’s handsets is nearly double those of its nearest competitors.

While Chinese smart phone vendors are quickly gaining ground internationally, Apple has turned the tables on them in their home market. The company is finally riding the large screen and LTE trends in China, which have been vital to its success, along with a well-timed launch and a clampdown on grey exports of its products out of Hong Kong. The top four vendors in Q4 in China by units shipped were Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei, respectively.

This is big news for Apple as it prepares to deliver what analysts say will be a blowout quarter for iPhone sales. Over the last year, the top smartphone vendor in China has shifted between Samsung, Lenovo, and the startup Xiaomi.

Apple has never been able to claim the top spot, but according to Canalys, the iPhone 6 launch was massive in China.

China is one of the most important markets for smartphone vendors. Most people there are still making the transition from regular phones to smartphones, so it's a big battlefield for companies trying to snap up new users.

Xiaomi, a four-year-old startup based in China, has been particularly interesting to watch over the last two years or so. Its phones are very popular in China, and, until now, it usually sold more units than Apple. Xiaomi makes really nice Android phones with high-end specs, but sells them for about half the price of other premium devices.

But Xiaomi's strategy hasn't put a dent in the iPhone's momentum in China, and the latest report from Canalys proves it. Instead, Xiaomi's rise has been more damaging to Samsung, which is still the largest smartphone vendor in the world. Samsung's profits continue to shrink as consumers choose cheaper Android devices like Xiaomi's phones that are just as good, but cost about half as much.

According to Canalys, Samsung is the third-largest smartphone vendor in China behind Apple and Xiaomi.

Based on the success of the iPhone in China, it doesn't seem to matter that it's much more expensive than alternative Android phones. The iPhone offers a unique experience, and that seems to be worth the premium price to a lot of people in China.

This also counters the argument that Apple is doomed in the long run because it doesn't sell a "cheap" version of the iPhone. It's now clear Apple can outsell manufacturers that make budget-friendly devices, even in emerging markets like China where consumers don't have as much disposable income.

Apple Top Phone Vendor China - Business Insider

 

[Established_1965]

Innovation beats copy cats and Apple proved it again

 

[BoQ77]

Billion dollars spent.

 

[Aepsilons]

The incredible popularity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in China in Q4 2014 has led Apple to take first place in the Chinese smart phone market for the first time by units shipped. This is an amazing result, given that the average selling price of Apple’s handsets is nearly double those of its nearest competitors.

Impressive.

 

[Providence]

You be original and innovative and the world is yours. You don't have to be from any specific country to dominate an industry.

Thieving, blatant photocopying & govt. protection can take you only so far.

Oh and by the way, iPhone 6+ sells at twice the rate in China then what it sells here in States.

 

[Genesis]

Innovation beats copy cats and Apple proved it again

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the smartphone industry, but iphone 6 is not original, bigger size, better camera, and all that, that's not only from other Android phones, it's also not as good, compare it with other phones that came before and since.

We are paying that Cold War Winner royalty check to Uncle Sam.

 

[Aepsilons]

Seriously. Too many "new versions" coming out too fast. I still have my Iphone 5s. And won't change it till at least 1 more year. I just seriously bought this last year.

 

[TaiShang]

Apple beats Xiaomi, takes the top spot for Chinese smartphone shipments in Q4

According to Canalys, which says it will release a more detailed report next week, Apple’s high-cost handsets beat out lower-priced local competition like Xiaomi by shipping more units than any other brand in Q4 2014.

Xiaomi did take second place on the list, followed by Samsung and then Huawei.

Taking first is an impressive achievement for Apple, especially considering that half a year ago it wasn’t even in the top five. Of course, the company’s sales do tend to surge when new handsets are released. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released in China justbefore the start of the fourth quarter, which likely helped bolster the company’s strong Q4 numbers.

Taking first in units shipped is not Apple’s only achievement in the Chinese market during the final quarter of last year, either. The company also set an internal record for most smartphones sold, and saw China buy more iPhones than the US for the first time ever.

***

Let's see how the standing will look like into the first and second quarters of 2015.

Xiaomi Note has just been released early January. There is definitely a boost into the sales during the quarter a new model from a popular phone company is released.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

Apple beats Xiaomi, takes the top spot for Chinese smartphone shipments in Q4

According to Canalys, which says it will release a more detailed report next week, Apple’s high-cost handsets beat out lower-priced local competition like Xiaomi by shipping more units than any other brand in Q4 2014.

Xiaomi did take second place on the list, followed by Samsung and then Huawei.

Taking first is an impressive achievement for Apple, especially considering that half a year ago it wasn’t even in the top five. Of course, the company’s sales do tend to surge when new handsets are released. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released in China justbefore the start of the fourth quarter, which likely helped bolster the company’s strong Q4 numbers.

Taking first in units shipped is not Apple’s only achievement in the Chinese market during the final quarter of last year, either. The company also set an internal record for most smartphones sold, and saw China buy more iPhones than the US for the first time ever.

***

Let's see how the standing will look like into the first and second quarters of 2015.

Xiaomi Note has just been released early January.

Become China is fairest market in the world, and we don't play with those silly protectionism.

 

[TaiShang]

Become China is fairest market in the world, and we don't play with those silly protectionism.

Apple agreed to comply with the regulations in China. The rest is just competition.

 

[BoQ77]

While order Xiaomi so easy, Chinese still make long queue for Iphone

 

[Providence]

Seriously. Too many "new versions" coming out too fast. I still have my Iphone 5s. And won't change it till at least 1 more year. I just seriously bought this last year.

Apple had to come up with the new product since the model 5 though launched with much bells and whistles lacked the teeth when it came to grabbing mind space.

 

[TaiShang]

If you think getting a Xiaomi online is hard here in Malaysia, see what India has to go through | SoyaCincau

 

[F-22Raptor]

Apple notches huge sales in China during Q1

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus helped the company generate $16.2 billion, or 22 percent of its revenue, from China.

The iPhone 6's big screen has pushed Apple to big results in China, with quarterly sales in the region topping $10 billion for the first time.
Apple generated $16.1 billion in revenue in Greater China in the fiscal first quarter, up 70 percent from the same period a year ago. In mainland China alone, sales more than doubled from the previous year. Greater China -- which includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan -- represented 22 percent of Apple's total sales during the quarter ended December 27, and it was Apple's second-biggest iPhone market after the US.

"I was there right after the launch in October, and the excitement around the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus [was] absolutely phenomenal," Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday during a call with analysts. "You can tell that we're a big believer in China."

The company plans to double its number of stores in Greater China to 40 by mid-2016, he added. Apple's traction in the region pushed the company to its biggest quarter ever. The company said Tuesday it sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, up 46 percent from its prior all-time high a year earlier.

The update follows a report from market research firm Canalys earlier Tuesday that said Apple became the biggest smartphone vendor by shipped units in China during the December quarter. Apple gained the title for the first time in its 38-year history, the firm said, surpassing Chinese vendor Xiaomi at No. 2 and South Korean giant Samsung at No. 3. Huawei nabbed the fourth-highest market share during the December quarter.

A year earlier, Apple held the No. 6 position in China, Canalys said, and its highest position in the previous seven quarters was No. 4 in the first calendar quarter of 2014.

The firm attributed Apple's position to the "incredible popularity" of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and said the market share gain was "an amazing result" given the retail price of the iPhone is much greater than that of phones made by Chinese vendors.

"While Chinese smartphone vendors are quickly gaining ground internationally, Apple has turned the tables on them in their home market," Canalys said.

Emerging markets represent a critical source of growth for everyone from giants such as Apple and Samsung to newcomers like Xiaomi. China became the world's largest smartphone market in 2011 and now is home to almost 520 million smartphone users. Apple has been working to gain market share in the country by reaching deals with major carriers in the region. An agreement with the world's largest carrier, China Mobile, proved challenging but was key as it provides access to more than 800 million subscribers.

Apple's China sales neared $10 billion only one other time before, in last year's fiscal second quarter ended March 29, the first period that incorporated sales from China Mobile. The deal between the two companies went into effect in January 2014. In 2011, Apple made only $12.5 billion from China the entire year. The year before, it made only $2.8 billion. Fiscal 2014's China sales totaled $29.8 billion.

The company generates more than half its revenue from its smartphone business, and the fiscal first quarter, which ends in December, is typically Apple's biggest quarter of the year because of holiday sales and the recent introduction of the latest iPhones.

This year's fiscal first quarter marked Apple's first full period of 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch 6 Plus sales. The company said sales for the period ended December 27 jumped 30 percent to $74.6 billion, well above the $67.69 billion projected by Wall Street. (The last record quarter for sales was 2014's fiscal first quarter with revenue of $57.6 billion.) Apple said it sold more units at launch than any previous iPhone model.

Emerging markets used to be one of Samsung's strong points. The company has long battled Apple over pricey, high-end devices, but it dominated in lower-cost sectors where Apple doesn't play. Samsung largely gained its strong position in places like China by offering old, cheap smartphones. But it made a big miscalculation: consumers in emerging markets didn't want old, inferior technology. They wanted high-end devices with low-end prices. Xiaomi and other companies met that need, rapidly boosting their market share at Samsung's expense.

Samsung dominated the Chinese smartphone market for 10 straight quarters before Xiaomi knocked the Korean company out of its position. The shift started in the second quarter of 2014, according to Strategy Analytics.

Samsung didn't respond to a request for comment on the Canalys report.

Apple notches huge sales in China during Q1 - CNET

 

[TaiShang]

Xiaomi Mi Note Sells Out In 3 Minutes - Business Insider