Chinese smartphone firms jazz up products, seize turf in home market from Apple

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Smartphone retailers in China say it's a tough sell of late with consumers reluctant to upgrade, put off by chill economic winds.

Even so domestic brands led by Huawei have made big strides, wooing consumers with top-notch hardware and innovative features as they move upmarket in the US$500-US$800 price range. The result: a loss of share in a key segment for Apple Inc and fresh price cuts for iPhones by Chinese retailers.

He Fan, CEO of Huishoubao which buys and resells used phones, said he has seen a consumer shift to Huawei from Apple, driven by the Chinese love of selfies and emphasis on camera quality. Huawei has had a tie-up with German camera maker Leica since 2016."Huawei's cameras have become noticeably better than Apple's in that they suit the tastes of Chinese consumers more," he said.

Apple, by contrast, saw its share of the segment tumble to 54.6 percent from 81.2 percent, also hurt by its decision to move even further upmarket with the iPhone X series."Most Chinese smartphone buyers are not ready to shell out beyond US$1,000 for a phone," said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint."This left a gap in the below-US$800 segment, which Chinese vendors grabbed with both hands.

In earnings too, it seems to be a tale of divergent fortunes. Apple's October-December revenue from the Greater China region fell by about a quarter from a year earlier. Greater China currently accounts for 15.6 percent of its overall revenue. Huawei's shipments in Europe jumped 55 percent in the latest quarter and it now has 23.6 percent market share, according to Canalys. That's not far behind Samsung Electronics and Apple which saw small declines in shipments.If Huawei is taking the lion's share of turf that Apple once had in China, Oppo and Vivo - brands owned by electronics hardware conglomerate BBK - are the newest threats.

The devices came with features unavailable in the iPhone, including under-the-glass fingerprint sensors and"notchless" displays, both of which increase the size of usable screen.

 

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