14 DAY TRIAL // Sales of iPhone X might be well below expectations in the United States, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the anniversary model disappoints in every single market across the world.
China is one such as example, as the iPhone X helped Apple record a substantial growth there, despite the decline that the overall smartphone market actually experienced.
Apple increased its Chinese market share from 10 percent in the first quarter of 2017 to 14.3 percent in the same quarter of this year, mostly thanks to the iPhone X, according to data offered by Counterpoint Research.
Huawei continues to be the leading company with 21.6 percent, up from 19.6 percent, while OPPO is the runner-up with 17.6 percent, an increase of just 0.02 points. Vivo is third, this time down to 15.5 percent. Xiaomi is fifth right after Apple with the biggest growth during the quarter, up 5.1 points from 8.0 percent share.
The growth could continue
Apple’s growth is expected to continue throughout the year, as the analyst firm says the increasing market share is the result of more users already owning an iPhone upgrade to new models.
“Apple still holds a large user base in China who haven’t upgraded in the past two years. Apple is now back to YoY growth in the first quarter since Q1 2015, which is an indication that its older generation iPhone user base is now upgrading. This can set the set the tone for the vendor’s full year outlook. Furthermore, as Apple enters its seasonal cycle, promotions in the coming quarters will further drive upgrades,” CR Associate Director, Tarun Pathak, said.
Apple could benefit from the debut of the 2018 generation, as this time the company plans to unveil three different models, including a cheaper version particularly aimed at markets like China.
This iPhone could come with a 6.1-inch LCD screen and feature the signature Face ID face recognition system available on the iPhone X, but without more expensive features like 3D Touch and dual cameras.
