China is a big smartphone marketplace, which is why companies make a consistent effort to cater to the country's population. However, it seems the famous American tech brand Apple is losing its hold in the Chinese market thanks to its competitors. In the fourth quarter, Apple ranked fourth place with 14.9 million shipped units with market share of 11 percent, 15 per cent lower from the previous year. This is according to a report from research firm IDC.
It seems like Apple's Chinese competitor Oppp, Huawei and Vivo are doing well in China. Oppo's market share in the fourth quarter boasts an 18.1 per cent, Huawei's is at 16 per cent while Vivo's is at 16 per cent. According to Senior Market Analyst, Tay Xiaohan, users have been actively seeking phone upgrades because dependence on mobile applications have grown. The demand from consumers in lower-tiered cities were satisfied by Oppo and Vivo which aggressively marketed mid-range smartphones.
IDC seems optimistic about Apple's future. According to the research firm, "Apple's 10-year-anniversary iPhone will also likely attract some of the high-end Android users in China to convert to an iPhone." This shouldn't be a surprise as the next generation iPhone is framed as a highly anticipated device with its OLED screen, edge-to-edge display and wireless charging. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo even insists that the iPhone 8 is set to be Apple's top selling model.
Apple will have to be aggressive as well as IDC also expects that Chinese companies will focus on international expansions, with a keen focus on pushing devices in the growing Indian smartphone market. Huawei even had half of shipments come from foreign markets in the fourth quarter. Additionally, IDC expects Chinese vendors to be aggressive with new tech like flexible screens and augmented reality, to name a few.
