Apple received a timely boost in China after a difficult number of months in the region '“ following the news that its iPhone 7 was the second best-selling phone in urban China. It has recently faced a public relations backlash after a consumer watchdog in Shanghai revealed that eight iPhones had combusted and exploded '“ although Apple moved swiftly to dismiss safety concerns over its products and said the flaming phones were caused by external factors, and refused to recall any of its units.
The announcement in relation to its impressive sales in urban China is a welcome development after a torrid spell in the mainland this year. Apple's iPhone 7 accounted for 3.8% of smartphone sales in the August-October period, despite not being available for the full three-month period, according to data that was reported across a number of media platforms earlier today.
The news is in stark contrast to recent challenges the popular brand has faced in China, earlier this year iPhone shipments plunged 31% to 7.5 million units in the third quarter, while Apple's market share also plummeted from 10.3% in the third quarter of 2015 to just 6.2%. The results were circulated via courtesy of Strategy Analytics who also reported that Apple reduced its order from component suppliers for its new iPhone 7 models due to weaker than expected demand in many markets, including China.
Kantar Worldpanel's latest smartphone OS sales data showed that iOS achieved year-on-year growth across most regions except urban China and Germany. For the three months to end-October, Japan was the top market for iOS with a 51.7 percent share of smartphone sales. The lack of the headphone jack has proved to be a non-issue for most consumers, said Lauren Guenveur, consumer insight director for Kantar Worldpanel.
