Original title: Apple's sales in China plummeted 35%, exposing three fatal shortcomings Source: Firewood Network

Apple's sales volume in China plummeted 35%

Recently, according to the latest report from analysts at the international investment bank Credit Suisse, Apple iPhone shipments in China in November dropped 35.4% from last year.

The sharp decline in Apple's sales volume in China is not the beginning of a decline. In October, sales of Apple phones also fell by about 10%, but by November, the decline had directly reached 35%.

Analysts also pointed out that since the launch of the iPhone 11 series, total iPhone shipments in China have decreased by 7.4% compared to last year, and added, “We estimate that in the past three months (September to November), the year-on-year decline in iPhone revenue in China was greater than 17.5%.”

The mystery of Apple's sales volume in China: only the iPhone 11 is selling well

It is worth noting that if you look at UBS data, it's a different world.

Since the launch of the iPhone XR last year, UBS has estimated that its demand for Apple in the Chinese market has increased 110%. And this year, the iPhone 11, which is priced less than the iPhone XR by more than 1,000 yuan, has increased demand in the Chinese market to an astonishing 230%.

According to UBS, Cook's “low price” strategy for the iPhone 11 this year can be said to have been successful, while the expensive iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max dragged down overall performance — the sales volume was even 15% lower than last year.

It can be seen from this that UBS said that the sharp rise in demand for Apple is still due to the low price strategy. If the Pro series and other product lines are added, overall, Apple's performance in the Chinese market is indeed declining year by year.

The three main causes of the sharp decline

First, as the analyst pointed out in his report, intense competition among Chinese phone makers is one of the reasons for Apple's declining sales volume.

Although Apple's iPhone 11 has already made corresponding price adjustments when it was released, and many e-commerce platforms have implemented high-value cash subsidy promotion policies, the cost performance ratio of the Apple iPhone 11 series is still not comparable to that of domestic phones.

Second, the sharp decline in Apple's sales volume in China has continued for two months, and this point in time seems relatively delicate. After experiencing the Double 11 subsidy promotion boom, too many users' consumption needs were overdrawn in advance.

I've bought what I should have bought a long time ago, and if I don't buy it, of course, I won't wait until now. The sharp drop in Apple's sales volume in China is also entirely to be expected.

Finally, 5G is still a hard injury to the iPhone 11. Although 5G networks and 5G applications have not reached a high level of popularity at present, there are also large data showing that 5G mobile phone shipments in China are now rising rapidly. Especially after domestic mobile phones launched 5G phones within 2,000 yuan, 5G is no longer synonymous with nobility.

The low cost performance ratio, overdraft sales, and the lack of 5G, which is the biggest headache, are under the heavy pressure of these three mountains, of course, the weak sales performance of the Apple iPhone 11 is also reasonable.

Apple's market share is declining

Also, according to data from technology market research company Canalys, in the second quarter of this year, Apple phone shipments fell 14% year on year, and market share fell to 5.8% from 6.4% in the same period last year.

In the third quarter, Apple's market share in China fell further to 5.2%, while Huawei's market dominance was further strengthened, and its market share rose to 42.4%.

In addition to this, some specific sentiment factors are also influencing Chinese consumers' willingness to buy.

Although Apple has cultivated a huge user market through a strong iOS ecosystem and good experience, this does not mean that Apple, which has lost innovation, will still receive unconditional and indefinite support from users.

Analyst: Apple's 5G iPhone sales next year will disappoint investors

On the morning of December 15, Gene Munster (Gene Munster), a famous Apple analyst and managing partner of Loup Ventures, told the media on Friday that Apple investors need to adjust their expectations for the 5G iPhone in 2020.

Munster said, “Investors will be disappointed in the iPhone's first year of 5G launch.” He believes that the operator must be blamed for this situation.

“Ultimately, this is a huge opportunity for Apple. It will play a huge role on 5G, but it will take some time to expand network coverage.”

5G coverage in the US is not yet widespread, but expectations for increased coverage in 2020 are high. According to a recent survey, current iPhone users seem to be increasingly interested in 5G models. Of the 1,050 iPhone users who participated in the survey, 23% said they would upgrade to a $1,200 5G iPhone, up from 18% a few months ago.

But Munster is skeptical that operators can deliver on the coverage they promised, which could dampen sales. The disappointing sales will “depend mostly on operators, who have already discussed 75% coverage by the end of next year. At best, I think the situation is nothing more than optimistic.” he said.

Despite this, Munster said he believes Apple's stock price will continue to rise in the new year, even though he is not optimistic about the sales prospects for 5G iPhones.

Synthesized from: China.com, Sina Technology, Detective Baker Street,Zhongguancunonline