In an effort to lure Chinese customers, Apple is doing something peculiar for the first time. To provide a context, Apple reportedly found a solution to implementing an under-the-display fingerprint scanner after it went through a number of implementations. This means that the upcoming iPhone will have a smaller notch, thin bezels and an under-the-display FPS under its OLED screen but note that this iPhone will be a China-only product.
Apparently, a research found out that Chinese users tend to choose a flagship smartphone at a price range of CNY 5,000 or $730 whereas even the cheapest iPhone i.e. iPhone XR is a priced model with fewer features than its competition from other brands. This has triggered the Cupertino-based brand to evaluate the way to inherit Apple’s premium iPhones into an affordable price segment in China and that is done by removing the expensive Face ID.
Apple’s facial recognition system Face ID uses a structured light laser emitter which is an expensive component according to a source. Removing this and replacing the same with a UD fingerprint reader/scanner could enable Apple to draw a lesser price tag on each China-only iPhones while attracting as much as Chinese users as possible.
However, there are too many discrepancies here. First up, Huawei is currently the largest OEM in China accounting for a whopping 34% of market share compared to Apple’s 9%. In fact, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi, which are all Chinese OEMs, account for more market share than Apple thanks to their specs and pricing whereas Apple falls into a flagship category with iPhones bearing price tags of upwards of $700 or so.
When asked in a poll whether what aspect of an iPhone can Apple optimize, almost 209,000 people voted “price” which is definitely one of the concerns for smartphones markets around the globe. When asked if people would like to buy a new iPhone with revamped design (probably with UD FPS), a user on Weibo said that she could buy a domestic flagship phone instead of buying an iPhone tailored for China if it goes through.
As per Global Times, Apple will relocate producing some of the Apple products in China in order to drive down the cost since most of the suppliers are based in China. Also, the tech giant is thinking about launching a phone that falls within the 3,000 to 4,000 yuan price range while keeping the premium status unchanged.
Apple is also facing cuts in its sales due to constant disputes between China and the United States. Apple is definitely keen on attracting more users from China since it is the most populated country in the world and it is the largest smartphone market as well. Tapping into the market share in China would benefit Apple extraorbidantly and that is why the company is making so many amendments to lure Chinese users to buy its products rather than sticking to Chinese-made smartphones.
The tech giant will launch at least three iPhones this September while we could see a China-only iPhone to launch in China although not too soon but we could see something come up very soon.
