China

Apple issues charger advisory in China

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2013

Following a widely reported fatality involving a Chinese stewardess who got electrocuted by her iPhone charger (just weeks from her wedding), Apple has posted a statement to its China web site recommending customers use only authorized chargers.

Ten days ago, a Chinese newspaper reported that 23-year-old China Airlines flight attendant Ma Ailun suffered a fatal electric shock when she answered a call using her iPhone that was recharging. Major media outlets picked up the report, creating another PR nightmare in Apple's "most important market" (Cook's words from earlier this year)...

High-end smartphone market gone, warns analyst

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 22, 2013

Welcome to the commoditization of smartphones, or the Emachining of the iPhone. As the handsets move from only the hands of first-adopters to something even your grandma owns, prices are plummeting. It is to the point where one analyst declares the end of the high-end smartphone gold rush.

The average price of a smartphone has fallen nearly $100 in the past year as consumers dismiss talk of 4G and other technical debates, concentrating on just one question: is it good enough and within reach of their wallet...

Unauthorized charger likely the blame for Chinese woman electrocution

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 5, 2017

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that a 23-year-old China Airlines flight attendant died after being electrocuted by her iPhone 5 charger. She reportedly suffered a fatal electric shock when she answered a call using her iPhone 5 that was recharging.

At the time, details surrounding the event were a bit foggy, with officials saying that they could not identify the source of the current that killed her. But a new report is out this morning claiming that a 'knockoff' charger could have been the culprit...

Did an iPhone 5 charger electrocute a Chinese woman?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Was a Chinese stewardess, just weeks from her wedding, electrocuted by her iPhone 5 charger? That's the claim Apple is investigating following a report widely distributed across a Chinese social media site.

Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old China Airlines flight attendant reportedly died after being electrocuted Thursday when she answered a call using her iPhone 5 that was recharging. The message was reposted more than 3,000 times on Weibo, China's microblogging site...

BRIC nations to overtake US as top smartphone markets by 2018

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 2, 2013

So-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are set to dominate smartphone market share by 2018, comprising four of the top seven markets, according to research released Tuesday. As a result, smartphone shipments to the US and Western Europe are forecast to drop to 33 percent of the smartphone market share, down from the current 39 percent.

At the same time, the top five countries in 2018 will account for just over half - 51 percent - of smartphone shipments globally. BRIC nations will account for a third of the shipments, according to ABI Research. The changing landscape means smartphone makers will need to keep pace...

Foxconn chief talks diversification amid lack of Apple product launches

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 26, 2013

There is a ripple effect underway in the smartphone industry. As consumers shift from high-priced smartphones to basic lower-cost alternatives, companies such as Apple look to produce lower-priced handsets. The latest in line are manufacturers, such as Foxconn, which for years has tied its profit wagon to Apple's success. Now comes word Foxconn's parent company seeks to diversify into e-commerce and perhaps licensing its vast library of patents...

India overtakes Japan as third biggest smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 26, 2013

For years, the big three smartphone markets have been China, the U.S. and Japan. India now has knocked Japan out of the third spot due in part to better distribution and increased attention from Apple and Samsung, a research firm said Wednesday.

India has recently been in the spotlight as the two smartphone giants battle over the nation's growing interest in adopting the more powerful mobile phones. As a result, consumers are bombarded with an array of buying options, perhaps explaining why Strategy Analytics is reporting 163 percent smartphone growth in India, four times the global average...

Is the party over for high-end smartphones?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Every company loves maximum profits. For years, Apple and Samsung have sold high-priced smartphones loaded with features that were eagerly snapped up by consumers in mature economies in North America and Europe. Now the two largest smartphone makers face a changing consumer profile where basic is best and inexpensive is in vogue.

Just days ago, research giant Gartner noted low-cost devices comprise the bulk of both firm's device sales, making questions of whether to sell 'cheap' handsets only a distant - and irrelevant - memory. Now comes fear from Wall Street that the salad days of smartphones are over for Apple and Samsung...

IDC: iPhone 4’s triple-digit growth boosts Apple’s China share to 9%

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 20, 2013

More indications Apple's efforts offering flexible pricing are paying off. Sales of the iPhone 4 in China grew at a faster pace than the overall market during the first quarter, research firm IDC announced Thursday. Per data, the iPhone has a cool nine percent of the Chinese smartphone market, putting Apple in fifth place.

Demand for the iPhone 4 grew by 211 percent, outpacing the market's overall 117 percent growth rate. By comparison, Korean smartphone rival Samsung has nineteen percent of the smartphone market in China. However, the company has shifted from growing its share of the high-end market to simply hanging on to what it now has...

Aping Apple…

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 5, 2013

In an irony likely not lost on executives in Cupertino, at a time when China is becoming Apple's chief market, a Chinese smartphone maker is earning the reputation as the 'Apple of the East.'

Xiaomi, which makes Android-powered lookalikes of the iPhone, is led by a young, brash and wealthy CEO who appears to be the second-coming of Steve Jobs.

From his jeans and dark shirt wardrobe to his company's $1 billion balance sheet, Xiaomi's Lei Jun, sees Apple as the template for moving China from the cheap rip-offs of yesterday to the Fortune 500 of tomorrow, according to a New York Times profile published Wednesday...

Apple close to striking landmark iPhone deal with China Mobile

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty was visiting Hong Kong and Taiwan recently. She is now back from China with some interesting Apple news. Tim Cook & Co., she wrote in her note to clients, may be close to striking an iPhone distribution agreement with China Mobile, the world's top wireless carrier by revenue and subscribers.

Specifically, Huberty wrote that "TD-LTE licenses, and related phone launches, are expected by year-end," in her note to clients. China Mobile debuted small-scale TD-LTE network in 2010 and last year expanded coverage to select large cities. In case you were wondering, TD-LTE is a variant of the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution radio technology, also known as LTE...

Apple missing some 2.8 billion potential iPhone customers due to carrier demands

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 6, 2013

Much talk surrounding Apple has centered on a cooling consumer demand for its flagship product, the iPhone smartphone. However, it may be time to shift the narrative to feet-dragging by a number of global operators that could hold the key to as many as 2.8 billion iPhone customers, according to a Monday report.

Instead of a slowdown in demand, a Monday report by Bloomberg suggests the larger problem is vastly limited access to customers. Two numbers go far to tell the story: 240 and 800. While Apple has 240 carrier agreements throughout the world, rival Samsung has inked deals with virtually every of the 800 wireless providers. Indeed, Apple is lacking agreements to boost sales of the iPhone in some of the most-populated regions, including China, Japan, India and Russia...