All the chatter over whether a gold (or champagne) iPhone would be a good move on Apple's part has served to highlight a glaring gap in our global knowledge.
What started out last week as a report on the economic value of a golden iPhone, quickly morphed into suggestions that gold was a preferred color in China - even a 'lucky' color for consumers there. Now comes the coup de grâce of the color debate: a comparison of auto tints...
Apple's iPhone 5S and 5C won't be released in China until November 28, according to a new report. That would put it roughly two months behind the handsets' initial launch, which is expected to happen on Friday, September 20.
The reason for the delay is that the iPhones have apparently not completed the verification process required by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. And it's not unusual—it happened last year with the iPhone 5...
It's believed that with strong competition from Samsung and other handset makers, the iPhone isn't as big of a draw for consumers as it once was. Some carriers have even stopped offering the phone, figuring it's no longer worth the hassle.
But ask providers like T-Mobile or China Telecom, and it's a completely different story. T-Mobile just posted its strongest consumer growth in 4 years last quarter on the back of its iPhone launch, and China Telecom is seeing similar results...
One Wall Street analyst has some comforting words for Apple fans watching the iPhone in China submerged under the waves of cheap Android smartphones: wait until the iPhone 5C arrives. Apple's highly-expected budget handset dubbed the iPhone 5C could pole-vault the Apple brand into first place, overcoming Samsung and other Google-powered devices.
The key to giving the iPhone the lead in China: the right price and wide availability. A Morgan Stanley survey of Chinese smartphone consumers suggests an iPhone costing about $486 and offered by China Mobile could give Apple's marketshare a double-digit boost...
Heightened competition coming from both Western and local makers of inexpensive Android handsets coupled with lack of new product announcements and state-run media increasingly blasting Apple while favoring domestic companies have all added up to market share losses and a fourteen percent drop in revenue in what Tim Cook often refers to as Apple's "most important market" that is China.
Realizing it is losing ground in the massive 1.33 billion people market due to politics and competition, Apple has apparently responded by beefing up hiring in China, the Wall Street Journal has learned. Among the positions Apple seeks to fill: an environmental affairs program manager, a security specialist and a store specialist...
China’s handset maker Meizu has made a name for itself by mimicking Apple aesthetics with its inexpensive yet nicely spec'd MX handsets.
With local brands such as Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi halving Apple's market share in the important 1.33 billion people market, Meizu is hoping to steal spotlight from Apple's upcoming September 10 iPhone event by scheduling a major media event of its own on September 2.
The company is apparently gearing up to introduce the third-generation MX handset, the MX3. If a series of leaked press shots and the 'Think Big' tagline are anything to go by, the phablet will be a crossover between HTC's One V and Apple's iPhone. And as per usual, Meizu shouldn't disappoint in the hardware and design departments...
We've often written about calls for Apple to produce a low-cost iPhone suitable for emerging markets, such as China and India. Now comes even more evidence for such a move as China and India are among the world's top three smartphone markets and are estimated to become the leading markets for smartphones by 2018.
Even more worrisome is Apple's declining share of those markets. In China, Apple's most important market, the iPhone fell from fifth place to seventh as local smartphone makers Huawei and Xiaomi grab more share. Meanwhile, in India, rival Samsung has more than a third of the smartphone market, which Apple has heavily invested in terms of marketing resources and newly-designed payment options...
Authorities in China are investigating two Taiwan-based Apple suppliers over pollution concerns, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. Environmental regulators believe that both UniMicron and Foxconn are knowingly polluting their water tables.
The investigation follows accusations made last week by Chinese activist Ma Jun and a number of nonprofit organizations. They claim that factories in Kunshan, China belonging to the two companies are guilty of releasing water tainted by toxic metals into the rivers...
Tim Cook was spotted in China again this week, reportedly talking to local carriers about recent less-than-stellar iPhone sales in the area. The CEO was said to have met with China Telecom, the third largest provider in the country.
But today, spokespeople for China Mobile confirmed that Cook also met with chairman Xi Guohua during his visit to discuss "matters of cooperation." China Mobile's the largest carrier in the world, and has yet to ink an iPhone deal...
Tim Cook is back in China this week, according to a new report. The CEO is allegedly there on business, talking with the local carriers there about Apple's leveling iPhone sales in the country, as well as its upcoming iPhone launches.
Citing sources familiar with Cook's meetings, tech.ifeng.com claims that Cook met with China Telecom's senior leadership this week. The talks are supposedly over, but it is not yet known if the executive has returned to the US...
Scalpers stop at nothing to make a few bucks off Apple's popularity around the world, and especially in the 1.33 billion people market that is China. As you know, large-scale buyers are known for paying scalpers to stand overnight in snaking queues and buy Apple devices in bulk to resell at a premium.
According to a report Monday, scalpers now have a new innovative technique: they are booking up all available Genius Bar appointments in Apple's retail stores in China for the purposes of selling these slots online...
Reuters:
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook believes that "over the arc of time" China is a huge opportunity for his pathbreaking company. But time looks to be on the side of rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which has been around far longer and penetrated much deeper into the world's most populous country.
Some great insights in this article where the authors break down how Samsung is outdoing Apple in China. In shorts, it all comes down to the different strategy Samsung adopted in China: multiple devices with low to high prices, creating "perceived innovation", a large retail presence, and maintaining good relationships with carriers.