“Xiaomi was China’s hottest phone brand in 2014 and ’15, but it couldn’t maintain the momentum in 2016,” Daniel Van Boom reports for CNET. “Shipping 41.5 million smartphones, the company once known as ‘the Apple of China’ was the No. 5 brand in China last year, according to market researcher IDC. It was edged out by the actual Apple, which at No. 4 shipped 44.9 million iPhones to China [vs. 58.4 million in 2015], the world’s largest phone market.”
“The big winner was Oppo, which shipped 78.4 million phones — more than double the 35.4 million it shipped in 2015,” Van Boom reports. “Huawei came in at second, shipping 76 million phones, while Vivo managed to almost double its shipments, going from 35 million in 2015 to 69 million last year.”
Van Boom reports, “IDC said Apple’s decline likely wasn’t so much a matter of what Chinese companies have done, but rather that Chinese consumers are holding out for Apple’s 10-year anniversary iPhone.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: No pressure, Apple!
SEE ALSO:
Analyst foresees Apple’s 10th anniversary ‘iPhone X’ to feature 5.8-inch OLED ‘fixed flex’ wraparound display – January 18, 2017
Why so few ‘iPhone 8’ units will have OLED displays – December 22, 2016
Apple supplier Japan Display wins $640 million from government-backed fund to boost OLED tech as Apple eyes new iPhone display – December 21, 2016
Apple’s next-gen flagship OLED iPhone is codenamed ‘Ferrari’ – December 20, 2016
Apple says OLED finally ready for iPhones, but most suppliers still aren’t – November 17, 2016
Apple supplier Japan Display seeks $703 million bailout from Japanese government – November 11, 2016
Sharp President confirms Apple iPhone transition to OLED displays – October 31, 2016
Apple supplier Sharp names Foxconn exec as CEO to spearhead revival – May 12, 2016
Apple supplier Sharp preps AMOLED displays after Foxconn acquisition – April 6, 2016
Did Apple help Foxconn buy Sharp? – March 31, 2016
Japan Display, an Apple iPhone supplier, seeks financial help from Japanese government – August 9, 2016
Japan Display CEO hints at strong Apple orders ahead of new iPhone launch – September 3, 2015
Japan Display and Apple to build new $1.4 billion plant for iPhone Retina displays – March 6, 2015
Japan Display’s reliance on iPhone orders rises – June 24, 2014
Sorry true FACT! Xiaomi was the number one Apple copier in CHINA!
Xiaomi – F-YOU – try coming up with your own product designs
Shipping millions of cheap android phones compared to Apple is not a brag. They have little inherent value after 6 months, lack of software upgrades after a period of time and you don’t hear of them after a year. People hang on to their iphones for a while. and the Most important thing It’s the Software.
Whether you make your profits selling an expensive unit every 2-3 years, a good enough knockoff at half the price every year, or swindle people into some pay as you go financial robbery at 20 bucks a month, you still make money.
Apple by the way does all of the above. Just because you don’t live in a country where Apple sells old refurbs like they were new doesn’t mean Apple isn’t in panic mode attempting to prevent emerging markets from going 100% android due to high upfront costs with the latest iPhones and iPads.
Forget about Xiaomi. Wall Street has already moved on to elsewhere. The Apple doubters and critics have already moved on to OPPO and how that company is putting Apple to shame in terms of smartphone growth in China. OPPO is said to be the big winner and Apple is said to be the big loser. As I’ve said before, every year the Apple haters are going to point out some new smartphone company in China showing tremendous growth. It’s like a Chinese smartphone market share musical chairs where Apple is always going to be seen as the company not getting to sit in a chair. If it’s not OPPO next year, it will be Huawei, Vivo or some other company said to be kicking Apple’s ass. They’ll find some company for sure and constantly write about it.
Yep, once again, these “massive threats” to Apple in China—Xiaomi and Oppo—make almost ZERO profit. The only threat they pose is to themselves.
If Apple had no pipeline into China yet, or had no money in the bank, or had severe inventory management/supply issues, companies like this might be a problem. But they don’t, so they’re not.
Amazon plowed all its earnings back into the biz for many years and reported zero profit. Now they are clobbering giants like Walmart and just about any discount online retailer, any media distribution company, and most every Cloud purveyor including its customer, Apple.
Zero profit to grow the business is a shrewd long term strategy. Apple had better mind the business instead of dismissing its competitors.