SHANGHAI: Apple’s new iPhone SE for the budget-conscious is unlikely to be a major driver of sales in China, with analysts noting it lacks the 5G capability that most new Chinese smartphones in a similar price range offer.
In a poll conducted on social media site Weibo, 60 percent of roughly 350,000 respondents said they would not buy the $399 model, the cheapest iPhone available.
But roughly a fifth said they would buy it, and the rest said they would consider a purchase. Although respondents were not asked for reasons for their choices in the poll, many commented they would be interested if the price drops further.
“If you don’t buy it and I don’t buy it, tomorrow the price will drop another 200 yuan ($28),” said a Weibo user whose comment got more than 10,000 likes.
Apple’s market share in China, its third-biggest market where it gains roughly 15 percent of its sales, has shrank over the past several years, as Chinese Android brands steadily release higher-end phones.
Competition has only become fiercer as those rivals are now releasing 5G devices compatible with China’s upgraded telecommunications networks while Apple has yet to launch an iPhone with 5G capability.
Last week several Chinese online retailers slashed iPhone 11 prices by as much as 17 percent. Apple occasionally lets its Chinese seller partners cut prices to spur demand, though it seldom allows pricing leeway for vendors overseas.
Most China-based analysts said the iPhone SE would mainly appeal to Apple brand loyalists who don’t want to spend roughly $700 for the high-end iPhone 11.
“The new iPhone SE will for sure attract mid-range users who don’t take 5G connectivity as a necessity,” said Mo Jia, who tracks the global smartphone industry at research firm Canalys.
Tech investors will nevertheless be watching its reception in China to gauge how demand for consumer devices may rebound once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, and whether iPhone sales in China can soften the blow of lost purchases elsewhere.
China is the only major market where Apple’s stores have reopened as the spread of the virus prompts governments around the world to impose lockdowns and other social distancing measures.
Government data showed Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones to Chinese vendors in March, nearly a fifth higher than the same month a year earlier and a sharp jump from just 500,000 in February when the virus outbreak was at its peak in China.
The company will start taking orders for the phone on its website on Friday, with deliveries expected to start April 24.
Apple’s new budget iPhone unlikely to make splash in China where 5G now commonplace
https://arab.news/gc84d
Apple’s new budget iPhone unlikely to make splash in China where 5G now commonplace
- iPhone SE would mainly appeal to Apple brand loyalists who don’t want to spend roughly $700 for the high-end iPhone 11
- China is the only major market where Apple’s stores have reopened
Free trade negotiations between GCC, India mark new phase of partnership, says sec-gen
RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general affirmed that the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, and the signing of the joint statement, represents a new phase of strategic partnership.
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said that this contributes to enhancing close cooperation and strengthening economic and trade ties, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
This came during the signing ceremony of the joint statement on launching the free trade agreement negotiations between the Al-Budaiwi and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, which took place in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
During the signing ceremony, Al-Budaiwi said that the Terms of Reference, signed on Feb. 5, provide a comprehensive and clear framework for these negotiations. The two nations agreed to discuss enhancing cooperation in vital strategic areas, including trade in goods, customs procedures, and services.
Additionally, the framework covers Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, cooperation on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, along with other topics of mutual interest. This reflects the comprehensive nature of the agreement and its ability to keep pace with the future economy.
Al-Budaiwi expressed hope that these negotiations would lead to a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that works to remove customs and non-customs barriers, enhance the flow of quality investments in both directions, and achieve further liberalization in trade and investment cooperation between the GCC and India for mutual benefit.
This would provide a stimulating economic environment and an investment climate that opens broad horizons for the business sector, supports supply chains, and accelerates the pace of economic growth in line with the ambitious developmental visions of the GCC states.
The top official affirmed the full readiness of the General Secretariat to host the first round of negotiations at its headquarters in Riyadh during the second half of this year.
The two sides held a meeting during which they reviewed the existing cooperation relations between the GCC and India and discussed ways to develop and elevate them to broader horizons, serving mutual interests and enhancing opportunities for strategic partnership between the two sides, particularly in the economic, investment, and trade fields.
They praised the role undertaken by the negotiating teams from both sides, appreciating the efforts contributing to reaching a comprehensive agreement that enhances economic integration and supports the smooth flow of trade between the two nations.
