Wired
On September 16th, Apple launched four iPhone 13 models at the latest autumn new product launch. They have not changed much in design, but have improved camera functions, processing power and battery life. .
At the same time, the relatively low pricing of the latest iPhone has also helped it win the favor of Chinese consumers, and its price is not much different from the iPhone 12 launched last year. As of Wednesday morning, the topic of “iPhone 13 price” on Weibo has received more than 1 billion page views. According to analyst estimates, China accounts for about one-fifth of iPhone sales, making it a key market for Apple’s success.
Although rising costs of raw materials and electronic components have pushed up the prices of other consumer goods, Apple’s new phones have kept prices unchanged. The cheapest version of the new model is the $699 iPhone 13 mini with a 5.4-inch screen and 128GB storage. The US version is priced at the same price as last year’s 64GB iPhone 12 mini, and the Bank of China is even cheaper.
Deng Yu, 32, a media worker in Changsha, said: “What attracts me to buy a new Apple phone is that I can get more memory at the same or even lower price.” Deng Yu hopes to buy for his wife. The new iPhone, the latter’s current iPhone XR has been used for three years.
Lu Yiyang, a 40-year-old Shanghai pharmaceutical researcher, decided to buy a new iPhone 13 mini. He said that he likes new colors such as pink, but he didn’t see any other special new features. Part of the reason why the iPhone 12 was so successful in China last year was that it was the first Apple mobile phone to offer 5G.
Morgan Stanley analysts said in a June report that they expect the Chinese smartphone market to grow by 6% this year. Among them, more than 30% of potential Huawei smartphone users said that if they could not buy a Huawei phone, they would choose iPhone.
However, other Chinese brands still pose a challenge to Apple. Brand sales of vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi occupy the top three in China, followed by Apple. These domestic mobile phones are usually less expensive than the iPhone and provide features targeted at Chinese consumers.
In particular, Xiaomi also poses a threat to Apple on a global scale. According to data from the market research company Canalys, in the second quarter of this year, thanks to strong performance in Latin America, Africa and Western Europe, Xiaomi surpassed Apple in global shipments and became the world’s second largest smart phone after Samsung Electronics. mobile phone manufacturer.
Apple is also vulnerable to shortages of semiconductors and other components. The company’s CEO Tim Cook said in July that supply constraints will spread to the smartphone sector in the third quarter. He also warned before that the same problem will affect iPad tablets and Mac computers. The outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Apple’s production center has exacerbated supply constraints.
Analysts from the market research company TrendForce stated in the research report: “At present, Apple’s biggest challenge is still that some parts are affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, resulting in tight supply, but we expect the scope of the impact to be limited.” They said they expect this year. iPhone production will increase by 15.6%.
At the same time, due to a variety of factors, Apple has hardly taken any measures to reduce its dependence on products assembled by Chinese foundries. People familiar with the matter said that in early 2019, Apple had asked its important suppliers to prepare to transfer production capacity to other Asian countries such as Vietnam and India. However, the epidemic disrupted these plans because strict controls on international travel made it more difficult to transfer assembly lines and other tasks.
Click to visit: Apple’s official online store in China