The Chinese market has been a big hit for Apple with more and more Chinese citizens buying Macs, iPads and iPhones. However, this past quarter hasn’t been the best for China in terms of the iPhone. Apple saw their 19 percent smartphone market share dwindle to just 10 percent in the second quarter of 2012. Some Chinese consumers have been turning to Samsung, which holds 19 percent of the market, and Lenovo, which currently holds 11 percent of the Chinese smartphone market, for alternatives.
Why is the iPhone market dwindling in China, anyway? That’s easy: people are waiting for the new iPhone, which is expected to be announced on September 12 with a September 21st release date. However, it may take a bit longer to launch in China as the iPhone will need to pass inspection by the Chinese government before being sold to the Chinese public. The new iPhone is expected to feature a faster CPU, larger screen as well as a total design overhaul.
While this all seems bad for Apple, the smartphone market is booming in China. A recent poll by IDC showed that 51 percent of Chinese cell phone users are using a smartphone with the other 49 percent using some type of feature phone. This is the first time in history that smartphone use has overtaken feature phone use in China.
Source: WSJ via iDownloadBlog
