Apple posts first negative year since 2008, 2016 looks grim

[StrangerGuy]

http://digitimes.com/news/a20160316PD202.html

Samsung Electronics saw its smartphone shipments to China tumble 39% on year in 2015, reducing its share in the market to 7.7%, from 12.8% in 2014"
Apple's shipments rose 45% on year, ramping its share from 10.1% in 2014 to 14.3% in 2015

*Insert China is too poor to buy Apple meme*

 

[Commodus]

Apple's advantage in China is that it's seen as an aspirational brand -- you buy an iPhone because you've made it. That's why Xiaomi, Huawei and others tend to copy some of Apple's style in their phone designs and software (notice how a lot of Chinese Android UIs don't have an app drawer?).

Samsung is in a bad position for the country, when you think about it. It's not a premium brand, because it will gladly sell legions of low-cost phones, but it also doesn't have the advantage of being a China-native phone maker. Sure, it'll sell the Galaxy S7 to phone enthusiasts and people who recognize the name from their TV, but it's not a go-to brand like it is in other markets.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Apple's advantage in China is that it's seen as an aspirational brand -- you buy an iPhone because you've made it. That's why Xiaomi, Huawei and others tend to copy some of Apple's style in their phone designs and software (notice how a lot of Chinese Android UIs don't have an app drawer?).

Samsung is in a bad position for the country, when you think about it. It's not a premium brand, because it will gladly sell legions of low-cost phones, but it also doesn't have the advantage of being a China-native phone maker. Sure, it'll sell the Galaxy S7 to phone enthusiasts and people who recognize the name from their TV, but it's not a go-to brand like it is in other markets.

When Xiaomi barely outsells Apple 4% by volume despite a retail 6S starting at $700 costs ~6x as much as a $120 Redmi, calling Samsung has a steep hill to climb in China in 2016 is the understatement of the century.

 

[jhansman]

I'm sorry, I just have to laugh. My brother once asserted that Apple was the wealthiest company in the world; then I sent him a link showing the wealthiest companies. The first three were Chinese banks....

The smartest thing Apple could do is move manufacturing of all it's products back to the U.S. The propaganda edge alone would probably be worth the labor costs.

 

[stlc8tr]

I'm sorry, I just have to laugh. My brother once asserted that Apple was the wealthiest company in the world; then I sent him a link showing the wealthiest companies. The first three were Chinese banks....

The smartest thing Apple could do is move manufacturing of all it's products back to the U.S. The propaganda edge alone would probably be worth the labor costs.

How are you defining "wealth"?

Apple has the largest market capitalization for a public company (and is sitting on a ton of "cash") but there are some SoE's that are "worth" more.

Saudi Aramco is probably the largest company by value in the world. Estimates as high as $10 trillion have been published.

 

[dawheat]

For those looking to upgrade their iPhones, it's not a terrible time assuming you don't need the newest and best (iPhone 7 coming out 5 months isn't a big deal to you).

Target has $200 GC off the 6S/6S Plus ($250 with the old 6 Plus), Walmart has $100 off the 5SE. Would expect that these deals will slowly ramp up to the 7 launch.