Apple went off the balance as the fourth top-selling smartphone brand in China, the world's largest economy, according to a new analytics report.
Recently, Analytics firm Canalys released a new report revealing the top five smartphone manufacturers in China, which shows the Apple has lost its position. Huawei still leads the pack with 23 million shipments since the first quarter. Oppo comes close in the second spot with 21 million shipments, and Vivo follows in the third spot with 16 million shipments.
High-valued tech startup Xiaomi dislodged Apple from its fourth place for the second quarter of 2017 with 15 million phone shipped, which is 60 percent higher than the first quarter of the year.
Analysts believe Apple is in danger of leaving the best-selling five in China as there is no guarantee how customers will receive the upcoming iPhone 8 considering its premium price tag, which is reportedly starting at US$1,200. The popularity of home-grown high-end smartphones offered by Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi proves that majority of the Chinese market is looking at devices with reasonable price tags.
Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak acknowledged that China-made phones are worth a lot of bang for the buck, without ever compromising top-notch functionalities at an affordable price. Speaking at a technology forum on Tuesday in Guangdong, China, Wozniak said Apple is facing the toughest rivals in the country with the presence of market leaders.
South China Morning Post recently reported that Apple has lost a total of US$10.7b worth of iPhone sales in mainland China during the first quarter of 2017, which is down by 26.7 percent in the same period last year.
