Apple has been doing fantastically well these last several years. The company released their Q1 2012 earnings last week and the results were nothing short of amazing. The iPhone now accounts for a solid chunk of their revenue.
With the release of the iPhone 4S back in October, the smartphone has done very well and made it’s way into tens of Millions of consumer’s hands. Thanks to its success, the tech giant was able to catch up with Android in terms of market share and as of recently, is barely ahead.
Quite the feat from just a few smartphones compared to who knows how many Android phones currently available. Seems like a new one comes out just about every other day. Okay, that’s exaggerating, but there’s a lot of ’em. According to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, Apple could sell as many as 40 Million iPhones next year, just in China alone.
The fact is, China is still a largely untapped market for the company. Morgan Stanley looked at three carriers: China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom. They then looked to see what percentage of high end subscribers have an iPhone.
The results are as follows:
- China Mobile – 8 percent
- China Telecom – 7 percent
- China Unicom – 20 percent
Out of a combined 150 Million high end wireless customers, that’s pretty low. Again, there’s a lot of untapped potential for massive growth.
“The iPhone is currently available in China from carrier China Unicom. Despite it being unavailable on the larger carriers, China Mobile and China Telecom, Chinese buyers have responded to the iPhone in a big way. In fact, Apple had to temporarily suspend iPhone 4S sales in order to protect store employees from overly enthusiastic crowds.”
“Huberty believes that if Apple is able to extend its China partnerships to include China Telecom, the company could sell an additional 26 million iPhone units in calendar year 2013. That would mean 40 million units for the entire region.”
And if they want to really do well in the country, inking a deal with China Mobile, the country’s largest carrier, would be very beneficial.
Do you think Apple has what it takes to dominate the smartphone market in China?
