While numerous mobile phone manufacturers are suffering from a shrinking market, the iPhone manufacturer is still doing relatively well. In this context, there is also good news from China: According to market analyses, the Californian group has managed to grow by almost 150 percent in the luxury segment compared to the same period last year.
Crisis? What crisis?
Apple had already reported surprisingly good iPhone sales in the last financial quarter. While sales of the iPad and Mac were declining – less for the iPad, more for the Mac – the group was able to increase the iPhone revenue from 39.5 to 40.6 billion US dollars. The fact that Apple is able to sell more and more particularly expensive devices, while the segment of cheaper smartphones is shrinking worldwide, may have contributed to this.
According to a new study by market researcher Counterpoint This applies in particular to China. Apple has succeeded in doing good business, especially in the segment of devices from 1000 US dollars. The increase was 147 percent. However, things were also going well for Samsung, which was able to increase 133 percent year-on-year. Both brands would have benefited from a decline at domestic manufacturer Huawei – and from the general trend towards premium devices in China. The local provider Vivo also grew massively here from a lower level: Its X series ensured unbeatable growth of 504 percent compared to the previous year. Vivo also managed to take second place from Huawei in the premium segment. However, Apple remains the market leader here.
Consumption recovers after the end of the lockdown
In the past few months, China had suffered from what were in some cases massive lockdowns in large regions – in particular Shanghai. Some of those affected were not allowed to leave their homes for months. In addition to lower consumption, this also led to massive problems in the production of electronics, as supply chains had to be interrupted and workers had to be isolated. In the meantime, however, there seem to be signs of a recovery in the market, although there are always strict corona measures in the country.
The overall market for smartphones in China had its last high in the first quarter of 2021. However, fewer devices were sold in the second quarter of 2022 than at any time in ten years. However, the premium segment remained stable. Apple’s iPhone costs at least 1150 euros as a Pro model. If you want, you can even spend up to 1830 euros for the top model iPhone 12 Pro Max with 1 TB of memory.
