Ondrej Holzman The larger iPhones 6 and 6 Plus are bringing Apple huge success in Asian markets, where it has so far faced stiff competition from cheaper smartphones. Since last fall, when it released new phones with larger displays, it has been able to take a significant share of the markets there in South Korea, Japan, and China.
Figures from the South Korean market published by Counterpoint Research are especially significant. According to its data, in November, Apple's share in South Korea was 33 percent, before the arrival of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus it was only 15 percent. At the same time, Samsung is at home in South Korea, which has so far acted as an absolutely unshakable number one.
But now Samsung has to look back. In recent months, Apple has overtaken LG (14 percent share), also a domestic brand, and Samsung's original 60 percent share has shrunk to 46 percent. At the same time, no foreign brand has yet crossed the 20% threshold in South Korea.
“The global leader in smartphones, Samsung, has always dominated here. But the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus change that here when pitted against rival phablets," explained Tom Kang, director of mobile research at Counterpoint.
With phablets, as they are called hybrids between phones and tablets due to their size - and with which Samsung in particular has so far scored points in Asia - Apple has also succeeded in the traditionally strong Japanese market. In November, it even exceeded the 50% mark in the market share, in which Sony is number two with 17 percent.
In China, Apple is not so sovereign, after all, iPhones were officially sold here by mobile operators only recently, but still its 12% share is enough for the third position. The first is Xiaomi with 18%, Lenovo has 13% and the long-time leader Samsung had to bow down to fourth place, holding 9 percent of the market in November. However, Counterpoint pointed out that year-on-year sales of iPhones in China increased by 45 percent, so further growth in Apple's share can be expected.
Well, those are nice results. Well done Apple!!! :-)