“If you’re a producer of personal electronics without a China strategy, then you might as well not have a growth strategy. The rising influence of the world’s most populous nation has been described as the only geopolitical constant of the past 30 years, and recent times have seen it growing in economic influence as well,” Vlad Savov reports for The Verge. “China is now the world’s largest smartphone market and continues surging forward as its economy and people ramp up their consumption of things to match their already vast production.”
“No one has benefited from China’s growing appetite for smartphones more than Apple,” Savov reports. “Even as the developed world was becoming saturated with iPhones, Apple kept expanding its sales with the help of China. The iPhone first became available in China in 2009, relatively early in its now gloried history, and has kept growing in line with the country’s expansion in disposable income and smartphone demand. This past quarter, Apple sold more iPhones in China than in the United States, belying prognostications that the Chinese market wouldn’t be receptive to such a premium, high-margin device.”
Savov reports, “China’s wealth inequality has produced two distinct smartphone markets: one about value, and the other about status.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple smartly focused on China years ago and now we see the longterm strategy paying off big time.
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Study: iPhone users are smarter and richer than those who settle for Android phones – January 22, 2015
Why Android users can’t have the nicest things – January 5, 2015
iPhone users earn significantly more than those who settle for Android phones – October 8, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
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IDC data shows two thirds of Android’s 81% smartphone share are cheap junk phones – November 13, 2013
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Study: Apple iPhone users richer, younger, more productive than other so-called ‘smartphone’ users – June 12, 2009
I’m constantly amazed that US capitalism manages to stagger along, given the blazing greed and short-term thinking. Imagine if even a modest fraction of companies out there had strategic thinking and quality anything like Apple.
If you think US Capitalism staggers along on avarice… you haven’t seen anything yet. The entire Chinese economy and, unfortunately, the changing Chinese culture… holds greed to be its number one motivator.
I have friends who live there and often tell of stories of MOST people that have been betrayed… over money.
Once China’s ruling party eschewed religion, the ideals that Confucianism held dear went out the window. Families that were once held together by a higher morality (spurred on by religious ideals) adopted a new god… Money… and for many Chinese, a lot of pain came with that.
This is not to say that religion hasn’t caused a lot of pain and suffering. It totally has. However, it’s still undeniable that better or worse, Freedom of Belief (be that atheism, buddhism, jewism, or christianism) has been a net positive.
The “developed world” is not saturated with iPhones. There are so many people left to buy Apple products.
Yet, yet, yet, the naysayers were so sure that Apple was failing in China. Even as recently as Jan 2014!
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/apple-iphone-5c-too-expensive-for-china-users-analysts-20130912-2tlmh.html
http://knowledge.ckgsb.edu.cn/2014/01/06/technology/apple-in-china/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/10/apple-faces-china-mobile-sized-stumbling-block-limiting-its-upside-potential/
Savov is wrong by not mentioning different analysis researches that said that Apple is number one in China.
China = Skating to where the puck is going to be.
All good up to the part about two brands making sizable profits making deluxe phones, Apple and samsung. samsung doesn’t make deluxe and they sure don’t make much profit to speak of. Stack ’em high, sell ’em cheap… that’ll work/s
Wait! I can believe MDN failed to call out the most foolish quote in the whole article.
“Savov reports, “China’s wealth inequality has produced two distinct smartphone markets: one about value, and the other about status.””
Android has no status… Wait! Did he mean Android has value? That’s just plain crazy talk!!! Apple has status because its products have value. Android has neither.