The Spring and Autumn of History
Edited by the Spring and Autumn of History
Today, Apple's difficulties in the Chinese market are getting worse.
In recent years, the rapid rise of domestic mobile phone brands with cost-effective advantages and localized marketing strategies has caused Apple's sales in China to plummet.
According to the latest data, Apple accounted for only 9.6% of China's smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2022, far behind leading domestic brands such as OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi.
This trend is not a flash in the pan, but stems from the rapid growth of local Chinese brands over the past few years.
Take vivo as an example, the mobile phone manufacturer from Dongguan has attracted the attention of a large number of young users with its excellent camera function and continuous product innovation.
At the same time, it is actively developing local marketing strategies, partnering with influencers and livestreaming platforms to get close to its target group. In stark contrast, Apple's long-standing reliance on in-store sales and high pricing has hit it hard during the pandemic.
Brands such as vivo are also on the same path as Xiaomi and OPPO. These companies keep up with the trend and adjust their marketing strategies in a timely manner to launch personalized and cost-effective mobile phone models.
In contrast, Apple's products have a single style, and there is a suspicion of "circular hype", lack of innovation and breakthroughs, and gradually lose their appeal in the minds of young consumers.
In the face of the rapid development of domestic mobile phone brands, Apple has to adopt a strategy of price reduction and promotion to stabilize its market share in China. Apple recently adjusted the pricing of some of its models, and the iPhone 14 is about 10% lower than its predecessor.
In addition, Apple has launched a "trade-in" marketing campaign to encourage consumers to trade in old models for new ones.
However, markdown marketing is not a long-term solution.
Some analysts pointed out that if Apple cannot quickly make up for the lost share in the Chinese market, it is likely to fall into a vicious circle of "price reduction-promotion-profit decline".
At the same time, once Apple products lose their "high-end" brand image, I am afraid it will also affect its sales in other markets.
Most worrying for Apple is the indication that the Chinese government may ban public officials from using smartphones and software from foreign brands such as Apple.
China's National Security Review Office has reportedly recently issued a document recommending that government agencies prioritize the use of domestically produced equipment and technology in their procurement.
If this move is finally implemented, it will not only greatly affect Apple's sales in China, but also increase the risk of its marginalization in the Chinese market.
In the face of these challenges, analysts generally agree that Apple needs to speed up the localization process in China, such as developing software and services that are more relevant to the needs of local users. At the same time, Apple may also need to forge partnerships with Chinese tech companies to find breakthroughs.
Overall, in the context of the rapid rise of domestic mobile phone brands, Apple is experiencing unprecedented difficulties in the Chinese market. If it doesn't make timely adjustments, the once-dominant tech giant could collapse in the world's largest smartphone market.
For Apple, it will be a difficult test to take the current challenges and achieve a magnificent turnaround.
-- U.S. crackdown on Huawei--
In the context of the Sino-US technology war, Huawei has become a key target of US sanctions and suppression.
Since 2019, the United States has imposed four rounds of severe sanctions on Huawei, aiming to cut off Huawei's access to American technology and chips.
This has dealt a heavy blow to Huawei's core business, including products and services in the fields of mobile phones, communication equipment, and chips, which have been affected and affected to varying degrees.
Despite the obstacles, Huawei is still actively responding to the challenges and striving for breakthroughs. For Huawei's mobile phone business, the supply of chips and operating systems has become an urgent need.
Although Huawei's HarmonyOS can temporarily alleviate the crisis, there is a gap between the overall performance and the Android experience.
In terms of chips, Huawei is unable to obtain chips with advanced processes from TSMC foundry, which makes its mobile phone performance not comparable to that of competitors such as Apple.
At the same time, Apple, as one of the most influential technology companies in the United States, is leading the global smartphone market, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. This is in stark contrast to Huawei's predicament.
Until entering 2022, Huawei's road to revival seems to have a glimmer of hope.
In June, Huawei released its new folding flagship Mate Xs 2, which is equipped with Qualcomm chips and runs the HarmonyOS system, reflecting Huawei's determination to restore the mobile phone supply chain.
In addition to mobile phones, Huawei has also restarted its business layout for tablets, PCs and wearables this year.
However, to achieve a full recovery, Huawei still faces many obstacles to break through. The first is the dilemma in the chip field. Due to sanctions, Huawei can only use chips with outdated processes at present.
To solve this problem, Huawei must master its own chip design and manufacturing capabilities, including chip foundry, lithography machines, and semiconductor equipment.
It is precisely in this that Huawei's R&D investment in the field of chips has reached an astonishing level in recent years, investing about 24 billion yuan in 2020 alone.
At the same time, Huawei is also accelerating cooperation with domestic manufacturers to seek breakthroughs in independent and controllable supply chains.
Moreover, from a historical point of view, China has never lacked determination and courage on the road of independent innovation.
In the 90s of the last century, China successfully broke through the technological blockade in key fields such as satellites, missiles, and aerospace with its independent research and development capabilities, laying an important foundation for the development of the national information industry.
In today's era, China is taking emerging fields such as chips, artificial intelligence, and communications as the main direction of future scientific and technological development. As a flagship enterprise of China's scientific and technological innovation, Huawei will be a firm executor of this great determination.
Looking back at the development process in recent years, the difficulties faced by Huawei are indeed enormous, but they are not without the possibility of breakthroughs.
As long as Huawei persists in its determination and perseverance in independent innovation, coupled with the strong support of the state and all sectors of society, it will one day be able to break through the technological blockade of the United States and rebuild its scientific and technological strength.
-- Fierce competition in China's environment --
In recent years, the backdrop of the confrontation and all-out confrontation between China and the United States in science and technology has intensified, which has brought serious challenges to Apple, the American technology giant, in the Chinese market.
The Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of the independent and controllable information and communication technology (ICT) industry, and is determined to break the technological monopoly of foreign technology giants in key areas such as chips, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
In order to get rid of its dependence on foreign countries, China is stepping up its efforts in independent innovation and industrial layout, and building a complete ICT industry chain.
Taking the chip field as an example, China is narrowing the gap with the United States by virtue of years of continuous investment and continuous improvement of chip design and manufacturing capabilities.
Once a complete domestic chip supply chain is formed in the future, it will inevitably impact the U.S. chip industry, and then shake the long-term dominance of the United States in this field.
Under the increasingly powerful pressure of China, Apple, as the flagship technology company of the United States, is naturally implicated. Apple has always been the leader in the world's mobile phone market, relying on the Chinese market to contribute a lot of revenue and profits every year.
However, in recent years, Apple has suffered a serious decline in China, with sales and market share declining.
So in order to change the status quo, Apple needs to speed up the localization process in China, develop products and services that are closer to local needs, and establish good partnerships with Chinese technology companies.
Unfortunately, the U.S.-China tech rivalry has challenged Apple beyond mere business competition.
As the competition between the two countries in chips, artificial intelligence and other fields heats up, Apple and other US tech giants are likely to bear the brunt of the blow.
Once Apple is "shut out" of the huge Chinese market, its global business and profitability will be hit like never before.
——Conclusion——
Although the United States has been suppressing and sanctioning China in the field of technology, this practice has instead accelerated the rise of China's domestic technological power.
Facts have proved that under the tremendous pressure of existing technology blockades and trade barriers, Chinese technology companies are rapidly sharpening their innovation capabilities and breaking through difficulties through independent research and development.
China has a unique advantage in scientific and technological development.
First, the huge reserve of human resources provides a steady stream of impetus for scientific and technological innovation.
Every year, millions of science and engineering talents in China step out of school and become a new force in scientific and technological innovation.
Second, as a late-developing country, although China is struggling on the road of scientific and technological development, it is also not bound by traditional thinking and enjoys the advantage of being a latecomer.
Third, China has the world's largest consumer market, which not only provides a broad market for technology products, but also drives companies to increase innovation.
In addition to its own advantages, China has also vigorously strengthened scientific and technological cooperation with Russia, ASEAN and other countries and regions to jointly build a new scientific and technological ecosystem.
As these collaborations continue to deepen, they will further squeeze the share of U.S. technology companies in the global market. Taking Apple as an example, its sales in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and Central Asia may face new pressures.
In the face of such a trend, if the United States continues to be obsessed with its stubbornness and does not give up its paranoid approach of science and technology warfare against China, it will run counter to the development of the times.
On the contrary, the rational approach is to abandon confrontation and go hand in hand with China to achieve a win-win situation in scientific and technological development under the premise of peaceful coexistence.