Source: Visual China
Text/ Qin Yi Editor / Chen Xiaoping
After Huawei left the market, after a year of rolling up the Chinese mobile phone market, the pattern was initially formed, and Apple's strength remained the same.
According to the latest financial report, from October to December 2021, Apple's revenue was $124 billion, an increase of 11% year-on-year, a new record; net profit was $34.6 billion, an increase of 20% year-on-year.
Apple has triumphed again in China.
In the three months just concluded, Apple's sales in Greater China were US$25.78 billion, equivalent to RMB 183.8 billion, an average of 2 billion yuan per day, an increase of about 21% year-on-year.
According to market research agency Counterpoint Research, Apple successfully topped China's largest smartphone brand in the fourth quarter, with a market share of 23%. According to CINNO Research, Apple's smartphone sales in China reached 50.4 million units in 2021, an increase of 29.9% year-on-year.
Apple's momentum has reached historic highs.
However, whether it is the inherent crisis from the supply chain and product innovation, or the momentum of strong innovation of Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, it is challenging Apple. Its resilience and profitability don't seem so indestructible.
Back to number one
New iPhones drive sales, and Apple's first quarter tends to be a bumper season.
In 2022, iPhone 13 sales are booming, and the iPhone business has reached a new high, accounting for 58% of total revenue from 53%.
Loop analysts expect iPhone sales in the fiscal first quarter to be between 84 million and 85 million units, higher than the Wall Street consensus estimate of 81 million units.
After investigating its supply chain, some institutional analysts judged that in the holiday season from October to December, Apple sold a total of 40 million iPhone 13 series mobile phones.
According to the data released by Canalys on the 28th, in the fourth quarter of 2021, Apple shipped 21.5 million units with the release of the iPhone 13 series, accounting for a quarter of the total shipments in the Chinese market, and for the first time since 2015, it won a single quarterly laurel.
After the release of the iPhone 13, Apple's sales and revenue in China for six consecutive weeks ranked first in the list of smartphone brands.
"The iPhone 13 product line has become a best-selling model in several major markets around the world, such as the top five in the US and Australia, the top four in the Chinese market, and the top three in the UK market." Cook mentioned in the earnings meeting.
The hot sales of Apple's new machines have even increased the revenue of TSMC. Strong demand for the iPhone 13 is expected to continue into the second quarter of this year.
In the case of China, the iPhone is gradually filling the gap left by Huawei in the high-end market.
CINNO Research pointed out that Apple dominates the high-end market of more than 5,000 yuan, and its share has increased significantly from 48% in 2020 to 75%, and the growth part is the high-end market share that originally belonged to Huawei.
Now the only thing that can stop Apple is the supply chain.
On a recent phone call, Cook responded that the new quarter was still affected by supply chain factors of more than 6 billion goods, and that it was expected to be better in the second fiscal quarter.
The "Apple Tax" suspense
Sales of the new iPhone are as eye-catching as ever, and Apple is trying to get rid of "iPhone dependence."
According to an IDC report, Apple has a market share of 14.1% (sampling the data of the second quarter of 2021), monopolizing 75% of the profits of the smartphone market. It is also trying to expand revenue outside of hardware.
From October to December 2021, Apple's services business generated revenue of 195. $200 million, up 24% year-over-year.
"There are a number of drivers, and it's a combination of the number of installs, the increasing user engagement of the various service sub-businesses, and the number of paid usage accounts that have also performed very well, reaching 785 million now, and 165 million in the last 12 months." Apple CFO Luca Maastri said.
In 2021, Apple paid $60 billion to App Store developers, a 33% year-on-year increase, accounting for 70%-85% of the total transaction value, which can be speculated that the total transaction volume of the AppStore in 2021 is between $70.588 billion and 85.714 billion.
Sensor Tower estimates that in 2021, the consumption in apple's app store will be about $85.1 billion, an increase of 17.7% year-on-year, while the consumption in google play is about $47.9 billion.
It is worth mentioning that the "Apple tax" is also constantly questioned, and its service business is also facing anti-monopoly investigations and even lawsuits in many places around the world.
At present, the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and India have filed lawsuits and taken measures to restrict the payment rules of their Apple App Store.
Next, how to continue to make money in the midst of controversy, Apple will be caught in a dilemma.
OV innovation is on the rise
After repeated victories, Apple still has hidden worries in China, especially the domestic mobile phone camp is catching up strongly.
According to Data from Counterpoint Research, in the broader market of China's mobile phone market, Vivo and OPPO ranked first and second respectively, with a total market share of 43%.
Looking back at the past year, the two companies upgraded the system experience on the one hand, increased the independent research and development of chips on the other hand, and increased the iteration of high-end production lines.
At present, the domestic camp generally pushes the foldable flagship model, taking advantage of the first-mover advantage, and warming up another round of replacement in the Chinese mobile phone market in advance.
Domestic foldable phones are becoming cheaper and cheaper, which may prompt some users to upgrade their equipment and switch brands.
"Apple's performance is driven by a combination of its pricing strategy and its premium base from Huawei, and if you want to continue to maintain a leading position in China, it is not enough to eat the old money." Counterpoint research analyst Zhang Mengmeng said that Huawei's absence from the high-end market has made it relatively easy for Apple to win.
"Apple has created a smart bar form, and today, the commercial space on this road has reached the extreme. Self-developed chips and even folding screens are opportunities for domestic mobile phones to overtake in curves. Sun Yanbiao, the first mobile phone research institute, believes that the folding screen has become a new track for Android manufacturers to compete with Apple.
The position of the high-end market is very critical to the future of various manufacturers.
Canalys predicts that the Chinese market will remain the world's largest high-end market in 2022, and it is expected that more than 500 US dollars of mobile phone products will contribute 30% of global shipments.
In addition to the folding screen, Xiaomi 12, vivo X70 and other products also have a certain competitiveness, in the high-end market in 2022, Apple will usher in a stronger local player.
If Apple only squeezes toothpaste in terms of camera, appearance, etc., the share it wins will be gradually "cannibalized".