“If it wasn’t already clear that Apple’s priorities lie in the East, the company is beating the point home when it introduces its newest products next week. As always, Apple will trot out executives in a California auditorium to show off its latest mobile devices,” Joshua Brustein writes for Businessweek. “New for this year, the company also sent invitations to the Chinese press for a separate event, to take place the next day in Beijing.”
“The invitations look almost identical to the U.S. ones and are reportedly for a re-stream of the event in Cupertino, sparing Chinese reporters a late night. Similar events are scheduled for Berlin and Tokyo, according to AllThingsD,” Brustein writes. “It’s hardly a surprise that Apple is making a gesture to the Chinese. The country is the future of the smartphone market. Sales are expected to grow 50 percent to 60 percent this year and to continue at 20 percent compounded annual growth through 2016, according to Mark Li, a senior research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said that China will eventually become Apple’s largest market. (It’s No. 2 right now.)”
Brustein writes, “By planning an event in Beijing, Apple is doing more than explaining its latest products directly to the Chinese press. It’s letting the Chinese people know they’re important, too.”
Read more in the full article here.