Apple's iPhone is losing sales in China because it is facing fierce competition from local manufacturers like Huawei. According to Bloomberg reports, iPhone sales continue to be dismal.
The sales drop has happened for the second time in a row. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO will have to explain the full extent of Apple's market situation in China on July 26.
The consumer market in China accounts for a quarter of Apple's total sales. Consumers are preferring local brands like Huawei or Oppo because of the big difference in price.
A smartphone from Huawei costs 2,000 yuan. This is a lot cheaper than iPhone's 7,000 yuan price tag. Both phones have similar features.
Huawei is now the biggest phone manufacturer in the country. According to a report released by Kantar Group, one in every smartphone sold is manufactured by Huawei. Guangdong Oppo Electronics Co., another Chinese manufacturer quadrupled their market share.
However, Apple is making sales through the App Store. A global finance and analysis site, App Annie stated that China has already surpassed Japan.
The consumers who purchase in the App Store will likely upgrade their phones to an iPhone 6S or iPhone 7.
However, Huawei is still competitive in price and specifications. The smartphone giant sells its top of the line P9 at 3,688 yuan.
The P9 has 64 GB of storage, a fingerprint scanner, front and rear cameras. Apple's iPhone 6S is already at 5,288 yuan.
Lauren Guenveur, an analyst at Kantar, said, "It is a fairly premium phone compared to the other models but it is a relatively lower price compared to the iPhone. There is also a sense of pride of being a Chinese phone user and owning a Chinese phone."