IPhone XS and XS Max are considered too expensive and not innovative enough in China
This may sound absurd to many people, but the company would have been ranked second in 2018 as it appears to be in a crisis of unprecedented demand. By and large, iPhone sales have begun to decline, a worrying trend for Apple that analysts and industry experts expect to see continue for at least a little longer. In fact, it is virtually guaranteed that Huawei will overshadow the overall volume of Apple phones this year after doing the same in the second and third quarters of 2018.
Aside from the US market, where Huawei's modest presence has an obvious and politically charged reason, Apple has struggled to fend off the Chinese threat all over the world. Not surprisingly, Huawei's homeland has proven to be a particularly difficult puzzle for iPhones, even at a time when global numbers were still increasing. For example, Apple finished fifth in China in 2016, according to Counterpoint Research, with a mediocre share of 10.4% of the biggest cake to the smartphone, compared to a third place in 2015 and a share of 11.3%.
As it turned out, reaching the bottom of the floor was still far away and there are two main causes of the worsening of the Chinese Apple crisis in recent years, as one explains. Reuters report.
Yes, the exorbitant prices of the iPhone are definitely to blame
This is the simplest explanation, supported by the introduction in 2017 of the first consumer mobile device with a four-digit starting price in the United States. Although the iPhone X is by no means a global lemon, its receipt in a market largely focused on the value for money could only be described as ice. Apple's Chinese share has not plunged immediately, but the total number of smartphones shipped to the region has begun to decline.
It is not enough to reduce the prices of old devices like the iPhone 8
Although the company has retained an 11.5% share of the pie in the last three months of 2018, this translates into a modest sale of 11.8 million iPhone units, according to the company. IDC, down 3 million from the fourth quarter of 2017. The natural answer was to reduce the prices of local iPhone to try to better compete with the flagship models of Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi, in more than Huawei.
But several recent reports have hinted that these measures are ineffective. In fact, February sales are considered disastrous, despite the iPhone 8, which today costs about 25% less than three months ago in China. Which brings us to the second reason why Apple is doing so badly in the region.
IPhones are just not attractive enough for Chinese consumers
In case you have not noticed, the largest smartphone market in the world has matured and evolved, now putting the emphasis on features and innovation. Yes, reasonable prices still matter, but not as much as a few years ago. Thus, it seems that sales of devices costing the equivalent of $ 600 and more have actually increased in 2018.
Instead of being good news for Apple, this transition has also favored Huawei, Oppo and Vivo. Indeed, the three brands have improved the material specifications of their high-end products more dramatically. While Apple remains focused on furthering the user experience, these ambitious companies are always ready to experiment with radical new designs and eye-catching features such as triple rear cameras and fingerprint sensors. integrated.
This camera Huawei Mate 20 Pro is apparently a box-office winner
At least for the moment, the strategy seems to be paying off, as many local retailers and resellers claim that iPhone owners are flocking to the competition. Huawei, in particular, would seize the once devoted users of Apple, mainly through cameras considered superior.
It seems that Apple may need to step up its efforts to remove eyeglass breaks and improve future generations of iPhone's photography if it does not want to be left behind. This is actually for the whole world, not just for China, but for what it's worth, the iPhone XI (or 11) should address at least one of these two fronts.
