“The iPhone 6 will test how interested Chinese consumers are in the Apple experience. The newly announced phone, along with its big brother the iPhone 6 Plus, has already crashed the servers of Apple’s online store and are on back order for multiple wireless carriers in the U.S.,” Victor Luckerson reports for TIME Magazine. “But the launch of the devices is being delayed in China, and it’s not yet clear how the new iPhones will compete with a cadre of homegrown competitors which have rapidly gained market share over the last year.”
“Apple, no doubt, is on the rise in China. Sales jumped 18% to over $15 billion in the first half of 2014, making China the tech giant’s fastest-growing region by far,” Luckerson reports. “With the China Mobile deal now in place, the iPhone is available from all of the country’s wireless carriers, giving Apple access to 1.3 billion potential customers. [Apple CEO Tim] Cook expects it to eventually overtake the United States as Apple’s biggest market.”
“The main issues holding Apple back in China are screen size and price. The company solved at least one issue with the iPhone 6 Plus, which boasts a 5.5-inch screen… Nearly 40% of smartphones sold in the country now have screens five inches or larger, according to Canalys,” Luckerson reports. “Price may remain a prohibiting factor, though. According to IDC, the average selling price for an iPhone in China in the first half of 2014 was $539. Lenovo’s Android-powered smartphones sold for just $98 and are currently beating the iPhone in sales. The 6 Plus, while appealing to phablet lovers, will cost $100 more than previous iPhone models in the U.S., an extra cost that will likely translate to China.”
MacDailyNews Take: Once again, for the umpteenth time: Apple is not interested – nor ar developers, advertisers, vehicle makers, accessory makers, etc. – in $98 phone buyers. One iPhone buyer is worth more than several cut-rate, cheapskate Android bargain bin scroungers. Apple sells premium products at premium prices to premium customers.
Luckerson reports, “Apple spokeswoman Teresa Brewer wouldn’t comment on exactly when the iPhone 6 might arrive in China. ‘China is a key market for us and we will get there as soon as possible,’ she wrote in an email.”
Read more in the full article here.
How about…never? Besides, they already have Xiamo-whatever for their phone needs. I don’t think they are interested in Apple.
Are you interested in increasing your brain and insight capacity?
Who cares when they get it? I don’t. I care about when we get ours in North America where it was born! The longer they have to wait, the faster a lot of us get ours. They’re always making knock offs, so use your knock offs.
China is an important Market for Apple products and we live in a global economy. I am sure Apple and its partners are working diligently to overcome the politically motivated move by the chinese government agencies.
As an American moving to China soon. I care.
According to a headline I saw on macrumors today, some people in China are already getting them. 😉