In a research note obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said cumulative smartphone shipments from four major brands on the Chinese market, including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, declined 10 percent on a year-over-year basis during China's Golden Week, a national holiday and major sales period.
Kuo, writing on behalf of research firm TF International Securities, said the estimated 6.5-7 million shipments during Golden Week, which ran October 1-7, were "lower than expected." He called Huawei the "major winner" as the only brand with a year-over-year increase in shipments during the weeklong holiday.
The well-known analyst attributed the year-over-year decline to a lack of innovative selling points among Chinese-brand smartphones. Kuo is positive on the trends of triple-lens cameras and fingerprint sensors under the display in smartphones, but said only limited models currently support both functions.
Kuo also cautioned that the US-China trade war "may be affecting consumer confidence, which makes the replacement cycle longer."
A third reason is that some consumers—particularly existing iPhone owners—will opt for more affordable legacy iPhone models or wait for the iPhone XR, according to Kuo, who expects replacement demands for the iPhone XR in China will be better than last year's demand for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
Extrapolating from Golden Week, Kuo said smartphone shipments in China in 2018 as a whole may be "lower than expected." He estimates shipments may decline 10-15 percent to 410 million units on a year-over-year basis.
Chinese brands have to rely on overseas markets for further growth, according to the research note, shared with investors Thursday. Kuo remains confident about Huawei's future shipment momentum because the brand has "the best competitiveness among Chinese brands in overseas markets," the note said.
As for Apple, the iPhone XR represents an opportunity for the company to increase its market share and revenue in the Greater China region, where it has faced increasing competition from the likes of Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.
Related Roundup: iPhone XR
Buyer's Guide: iPhone XR (Caution)
Discuss this article in our forums
from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2IQJqyG
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave your thoughts....