Apple's new products enter China in advance: operators have their own considerations
A day before the Apple event triggered an unprecedented wave of criticism among Chinese users. However, despite being described as disappointing, the latest iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are still the most anticipated products for all mobile phone channels in the second half of the year.
But the market environment is no longer one of dominance by a single player, and Apple's desire for the Chinese market exceeds expectations. The latest series of iPhones entering China earlier has already caused subtle changes among all parties on the interest chain.
Compared to previous years, this year's Apple new product launch was the least suspenseful. When people who stayed up late found that the previously leaked information had almost completely "spoiled" the event, they began to criticize the lack of innovation in the new iPhone products and even jokingly referred to Apple as a "township enterprise".
The only surprise Apple gave in this event was the price, with a starting price of 4488 yuan shattering people's expectations for the iPhone 5c to be the first affordable iPhone.
Everything else is gone, leaving only the redefinition of the importance of the Chinese market. "This highlights the status of the Chinese market as Apple's lifeline, clarifying the importance of the Chinese market to Apple," said Zhang Yi, CEO of iMedia.
Chinese carriers were already prepared for this Apple product launch. An internal document from China Unicom Huasheng exclusively obtained by Tencent Technology shows that before the September 11 Apple product launch, China Unicom headquarters had held a briefing meeting across the country regarding the launch of the new iPhone.
"The preparation time for the launch of the new iPhone this time is very tight, and the model types are more complex than before," a high-ranking official from China Unicom predicted about the two new iPhone models from Apple.
Even though at the time of this briefing, Apple had not announced the final launch date, China Unicom had already made preliminary sales plans. According to China Unicom's plan, starting from September 13, the first batch of new iPhones will begin entering inventory, followed by pre-orders. China Unicom stipulated that all subsidiaries must complete the initial sale preparations such as product warehousing, receipt signing, and cabinet display by September 18.
This is a strict order because the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will officially launch simultaneously in nine countries and regions, including mainland China, on September 20. After the official release of the new product, channels like China Unicom, China Telecom, Suning, and Gome all released pre-order information.
Now, after China Unicom and China Telecom have successively introduced the iPhone, there are also signals that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c support TD-LTE networks, making cooperation between China Mobile and Apple inevitable once the 4G license is issued.
Operators each have their own thoughts
Chinese operators are experiencing the best time to cooperate with Apple. But each of them has their own agenda.
"When the cooperation between China Unicom and Apple is no longer exclusive, Apple is no longer as important to Unicom as it used to be," said an insider from China Unicom.
One reason it is no longer as important is that through its exclusive cooperation with Apple over the past two to three years, China Unicom has gained what it wanted: a large number of high-end users, a higher ARPU value for 3G users, and boosted its mobile business.
In the first half of this year, China Unicom's 3G service revenue reached 40.91 billion yuan, accounting for more than 50% of its mobile service revenue for the first time. The total number of 3G users exceeded 100 million, growing by 73.9% year-over-year, with a penetration rate of 38.2% among China Unicom's mobile users.
On the other hand, Apple's business pull effect on China Unicom is beginning to show signs of fatigue. "After the release of the iPhone 5, China Unicom carried out various marketing activities. Compared to the same period for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the sales of the iPhone 5 were relatively poor," the aforementioned person from China Unicom revealed.
He even believes that for China Unicom, Apple's role in the company has reached a point where it can retire gracefully.
However, China Telecom and China Mobile's dependence on Apple's iPhone is just beginning.
"China Telecom's 3G users don't have many high-end users, and they need the iPhone to boost their image," Zhang Yi said. "For China Mobile, introducing the iPhone can help curb the continuous outflow of high-end users."
However, according to a staff member of China Telecom's Tianyi Terminal, there doesn't seem to be too much overly enthusiastic information about the iPhone. "Compared to previous times, our work pace is tighter. The level of emphasis hasn't changed much," this person said.
Gray Market Merchants May Lose Their "First Pot of Gold" from the New iPhone
Compared to previous years, how much will the survival space of gray market phones be squeezed due to the early arrival of the new version of the iPhone?
When Apple launched its first iPhone in 2007, people could only experience it by having it brought in from places like Hong Kong or the United States. Gray market merchants would make a substantial profit through the time difference between the release of the new iPhone in mainland China and abroad. Now, this time difference has completely disappeared.
"It's different from before; many dealers won't be able to earn their most profitable 'first pot of gold' selling iPhones," said Wang Zhidi, head of Geek Digital. Wang Zhidi has his own store in E World in Beijing's Zhongguancun and has been dealing in Apple, Samsung, HTC, and other phones for a long time.
However, he believes that the overall impact is not significant because there is still a price difference.
In the list of countries where the first batch of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be launched, which includes nine countries (and Hong Kong, China), the prices for the 16GB versions are 3970 yuan and 3360 yuan respectively in the U.S., while the prices in mainland China are 5288 yuan and 4488 yuan, with a difference of over 1000 yuan. The prices in Hong Kong are also about 800 yuan cheaper than in mainland China.
"From the perspective of market demand, the Hong Kong and U.S. versions are still selling well," said Wang Zhidi. He boldly predicted that the design direction of the iPhone 5c is different from the iPhone 5s, which can attract a large number of ordinary users. "With multiple colors and being cheaper, that's the hard truth. It's only $99 under contract abroad, and it will sell a lot," he said.
However, Zhang Yi believes that the operating space for gray market phones in the new iPhone is not significant.
"The difference between the Hong Kong version and the mainland version is 800 yuan. Considering the markup by gray market merchants, warranty issues, and the attractiveness of carrier packages, fewer people will buy gray market phones," he said.
Domestic Manufacturers Focus More on Xiaomi
Before and after the Apple product launch, other smartphone manufacturers did not sit idly by.
"Fingerprint looks good, but everything else is unattractive. Finally, I looked at the pricing of the 5c, hmm, basically suicide," commented Luo Yonghao, CEO of Smartisan Tech.
Apple did not launch the rumored cheap iPhone, and the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, priced at 4488 yuan and above, continue to follow a high-end route. This allows Samsung, Sony, HTC, Nokia, and other smartphone manufacturers to continue to compete head-on with Apple's high-end new products.
"This year in the first half, the high-end smartphone market has already become quite sluggish, with insufficient motivation for users to upgrade. Originally, it was Apple and Samsung, now there are several more competing for this market, and the future '2+1' pattern will become clearer," Zhang Yi said.
He predicts that the "2" will still be held by Apple and Samsung. As for the "1" position, it's not particularly certain, and Sony, HTC, and Nokia all have opportunities to compete for the third spot in the high-end smartphone market.
An interesting thing is that in the past, many domestic phone manufacturers considered Apple a competitor and even staged events to smash Apple products.
Now, domestic manufacturers are not particularly moved by Apple's new product releases.
In the view of a senior executive of a domestic phone manufacturer, the main products of domestic manufacturers are mid-to-low-end, and there is not much overlap with Apple's consistent pursuit of a high-end strategy.
On the eve of Apple's new product launch, he expressed his thoughts: "For the current domestic smartphone camp of ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad, and Lenovo, Xiaomi's influence is greater than Apple's." Taking the 799-yuan Redmi phone as an example, "According to our calculations, this is definitely sold at a loss. Without strong cash flow support, traditional phone manufacturers dare not follow suit," he said.
