In accordance with a recent report from IDC, the Cupertino, California based company Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has started losing its grip in the most lucrative cell phone market China. The company fell to number 6 in smartphone market ranking in the third quarter of current year. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s current quarter position in market share fell about two points as compared with its ranking in previous quarter.
Analysts are of the view that major local firms in China and stiff competition from other rivals are the major reasons for this precipitous fall. Major local players in China are competing with each other on the basis of smartphone features and prices. China now has become a difficult market for new entrants for sure. The smartphone shipments in China saw a record growth and resulted in total volume of about 60 million units.
In addition to local producers Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is also facing stiff rivalry from the Finland based company Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK). In a recent development the Finnish company signed a deal with China Mobile to increase its sales in the world’s biggest cell phone market. However, Apple is currently on better place to counter this rivalry. Last week the Cupertino based company got approval from Chinese regulators to initiate sale of iPhone 5.
The South Korean based company Samsung Electronics Ltd stood on top in the ranking followed by Lenovo Group Ltd, the world’s number second PC maker. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, manufacturer of telecom related technologies, gained the 5th ranking in the list, according to IDC.
Chinese based firm Coolpad made to 3rd position in the country, after having a three-spot jump. The telephonic equipment manufacturer ZTE Corporation went down by one point to 4th position in the period of July to September.
Three major mobile companies in China, including Unicom, Telecom and China Mobile have exhibited new lines in handsets to attract enthusiasts of social networking and online gaming. The country holds nearly one billion mobile phone subscribers.