![]() Services revenue – which the company has been touting as a growth driver as iPhone volumes plateau – rose by double digits in China as more iPhone users downloaded games on the App store, after regulators continued to approve games following a months-long ban.Ĭhinese authorities approved 291 domestic and imported titles for in-app purchases in July-September, pushing up downloads of popular titles including Tencent’s Battle Through The Heavens and NetEase’s Pro Evolution Soccer. The September quarter was indeed an improvement for Apple in China. Huawei cornered the lion’s share of the China market in the July-September period, according to market research firm Canalys, leaving Apple towards the bottom of the pile. Yan expects cheaper 5G devices from these companies to flood the market in China next year, pushing down Apple’s sales. Smaller phonemakers including Xiaomi have quickly followed suit as China’s state-owned carriers are set to launch 5G services today, effectively bringing ultra-fast web connectivity to the masses. “Apple’s new low-price strategy in China had an extremely large impact,” said James Yan, who tracks China’s smartphone market at Counterpoint Research.īut the company is expected to launch a 5G-enabled smartphone only next year, which analysts say is a problem when Huawei, China’s top smartphone maker, launched its first 5G phone in June – the Mate 20 X, priced at 6,199 yuan ($901). This followed a year of heavy discounting on older iPhone models as Apple gave resellers flexibility to cut prices, contrary to past practice.Īs well, the company recently introduced instalment-based payment plans to push sales in a weaker economy and a contracting smartphone market. The company priced the cheapest variant of its iPhone 11 at $50 less than the last generation model, even as it pulled in the launch of the new models by a month versus last year, which helped sales in the September quarter. Its net loss reached 4.7 billion yuan in the first quarter, compared to 1.8 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier.Apple Inc managed to largely stem a fall in China revenue in the September quarter thanks to the release-timing of the iPhone 11, a cheaper variant, and a bit of good luck, but analysts said the company’s good fortunes might be shortlived.Īpple said sales in greater China fell 2.4% in its fourth quarter ended September 30, a far cry from the 27% drop it saw in the first quarter this year – a fact that chief executive Tim Cook played up on the company’s post-earnings call on Wednesday. The loss-making company's investments in battery-swapping stations, however, have been questioned by investors for dragging on its profitability. Nio said in February it would accelerate expansion of its batter swapping network with a plan to build 1,000 swapping stations in China this year to bring the total number of such sites to 2,300 by year-end. It is among only a handful of EV makers betting on battery swapping as a major power option for electric cars while main rival Tesla has dismissed battery swapping as "riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use". Nio had been offering the swapping services for free at least four times each month to existing owners. but we can't make everyone happy," he said. "The adjustments had been discussed internally for quite a while and we took advice and suggestions from some users," Nio Chief Executive William Li said on the company's social media app, referring to the price cuts and the new policy on battery swapping. More than 40 auto brands operating in China including BYD and Volkswagen have joined a price war started by Tesla this year in a fight for market share as car demand slumps, with ripples spreading throughout the country's wider automotive industry.
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