Apple CEO Tim Cook heads to China amid reports of underwhelming iPhone 15 sales

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, recently made a surprise visit to China, where he attended a gaming event. This visit highlights the importance of the Chinese market to Apple, especially at a time when the company is facing some challenges.

The new iPhone 15, which is Apple’s latest smartphone, was launched less than a month ago. However, it seems that the reception in China has been somewhat lukewarm. According to Counterpoint Research, the sales of iPhone 15 in the first 17 days were 4.5% lower than those of the iPhone 14.

According to a report by CNBC, during his visit, Cook cheered on gamers who were playing “Honor of Kings,” a popular game developed by TiMi Studio, owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent. This game is a significant source of revenue for Apple’s App Store in China.

Meanwhile, Huawei, a Chinese tech giant and a major competitor to Apple, has managed to launch a new smartphone with high-end semiconductors and 5G connectivity.

This is despite U.S. sanctions aimed at preventing this. Huawei was once the biggest smartphone maker in China and Apple’s main competitor before U.S. sanctions affected its access to key technology.

Counterpoint analyst Mengmeng Zhang said, “China’s headline numbers for the 15 series are in the red, and this is a reflection of the broader decline in consumer spending,” says Mengmeng Zhang. “But the shorter pre-holiday shopping period coupled with supply mismatches on the Pro Max (with consumers shying away from blue) could push some of the demand to calendar Q4.”

Compared to China, US market is showing double digit growth compared to last year. Counterpoint claims that within the first 9 days of iPhone 15 sales has shown double-digit increases in overall unit sales and healthy demand across Base, Pro and even Pro Max models.

“The US is hot right now with back-to-back stellar weekends for the new iPhone. Overall reception of the 15 series has been very positive and we’re expecting a major upgrade cycle from iPhone 11 and 12 users,” says Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director for North America. “Of course, we’re talking about the first couple weeks of sales, but it’s a positive sign and takes a lot of sting off the China numbers.”

Also read: Apple launches budget-friendly Apple Pencil with USB-C at Rs 7,900; see details

Also read: Apple dominates top-10 best-selling smartphones list for 2022; check details here