This year he visited China for the second time. apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook met with Beijing officials and local partners as the company faces challenges from the launch of Apple’s smart phones and increasing competition in the market.
China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology met with Apple’s CEO in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss Apple’s development in China, online data security and cloud services, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. statement.
During the conversation, the Ministry of Commerce said that Cook demonstrated Apple’s commitment to China, promising to increase investment in the market and grow together with Chinese companies. On the same day, he also met with China Mobile Chairman Yang Jie and other leaders of many local Chinese companies to discuss digital content and 5G product cooperation. local coverage.
Ivan Lam, senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, said the timing of the visit is significant as local competitors are launching updated operating systems that integrate artificial intelligence and new flagship products.
“The visit now seems noteworthy as the company may seek to strengthen cooperation with local businesses to launch Apple Intelligence in China,” Lin said.
Le Xu, an analyst at Canalys who focuses on Apple strategy research, said that the launch of Apple Smart in China may be the main motivation for Cook’s trip, and it is also to “enhance China’s importance to Apple’s global strategy.”
Zhou said the timeline for introducing Apple smartphones in China remains “uncertain” and will depend heavily on regulatory approval, which could explain some of the highlights of his trip to China.
He added that this could be a problem for the company, as the lack of Apple Intelligence on Chinese devices is expected to reduce users’ incentive to upgrade to the iPhone 16.
Apple Intelligence is the company’s AI offering designed to bring artificial intelligence to its devices, with features including an improved voice assistant and tools to automatically organize emails and transcribe and summarize recordings.
While the company says Apple Intelligence will be available in U.S. English this fall, it has been quieter about plans to offer the product in China.
Cook frequently travels to China, Apple’s largest overseas market, to launch products and factories, visit suppliers and meet with local officials. During his visit in March, he was attending the opening ceremony of a new retail store in Shanghai. He also visited Chengdu this time last year, when Apple faced sluggish demand in the world’s second-largest economy.
During the trip, Cook was photographed in his post visiting the offices of Chinese social media giant Weibo and meeting its CEO. Personal Weibo account. Weibo is one of the local app developers Launched application It is suitable for Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which was released in the Chinese market in June.
Apple successfully launched the latest model in the series, iPhone 16, in China in September this year, and the new phone got off to a strong start. Sales rose 20% in the first three weeks since launch compared with the 2023 model, according to research firm Counterpoint.
Despite the success of the product launch, overall iPhone sales, including older models, fell 2% year-on-year in China over the past three weeks.
Apple’s market share in China continues to shrink due to intensifying competition with local manufacturers and Chinese consumers’ increasing preference for domestically produced products.
The company’s market share fell by 5.7% year-on-year in the second quarter. according to counterpoint.
After making a splash last year with the launch of a surprise 5G model, Huawei, one of Apple’s main rivals in China, launched a competing phone on the day the iPhone 16 went on sale.
“Huawei’s recent resurgence in the high-end market, driven by its own chips and HarmonyOS ecosystem, has intensified the competitive landscape, making it harder for Apple to maintain its lead,” Canalys’ Chiew said.
Apple’s Vision Pro may also face more market competition like Huawei According to reports, the transmission It could launch its own competing headphones as soon as next week.
—CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report
About The Author
