Apple's share of the smartphone market in Asia has risen significantly since the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September, according to market research firm Counterpoint (via The Wall Street Journal). The biggest market share gains for the iPhone came in Japan, China, and South Korea, with the iPhone seeing a 33% market share during November in the latter country. This only trailed rival and South Korean company Samsung, which had a 46% market share after holding a 60% market share.

iphone6-stock

“No foreign brand has gone beyond the 20% market share mark in the history of Korea’s smartphone industry,” said Tom Kang, research director for mobile devices at Counterpoint. “It has always been dominated by the global smartphone leader, Samsung. But iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have made a difference here, denting the competition’s phablet sales.”

Apple's market share in Japan grew to 51% in November, holding a commanding lead over second place Sony which holds 17% market share. In China, Apple held a 12% market share in the smartphone market, which is third place behind Lenovo's 13% market share and upstart manufacturer Xiaomi, which commanded a 18% market share.

In November, data from AppLovin showed that the iPhone 6 Plus was popular with Asian customers, as Japan, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines showed an adoption rate of over 35% for the larger device. Overall, strong sales for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus led to smartphone market share growth for Apple across the world, with analysts attributing the growth to the redesigned bodies and larger screens of both devices.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

thekeyring Avatar
116 months ago
Better marketing often beats a better product.

Luckily Apple has both.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wesley96 Avatar
116 months ago
I was unaware that people purchased phones based on some sort of nationalism.:rolleyes: But if what you say is true, what does that say about us Americans? I mean, it's not like we buy Apple exclusively because they're the "home company". Samsung's marketing definitely worked here, and according to this forum, Apple's product was better.

It could be as simple as more Korean people like iPhones now that they have sizes that are more attractive to the market.
Speaking as a Korean here, nationalism has driven sales of local brands in the past and is still valid to certain extent even now. But it's also the case of brand familiarity, especially for the older generations. They're familiar with Samsung and LG, and have the perception that they make good products. So even me being a stalwart Apple fan, I just recommend Samsung to relatives who are not familiar with Apple.

Meanwhile, the younger generations are familiar with Apple and the so-called iPhone Shock that happened back in 2009 when iPhone officially launched here. This demographic had embraced it quite well. But since then, the screen being more or less the same size had an effect of eroding the market share, moving away to large screen size offerings from the local brands. What we've seen back last November would be more or less those people returning.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
taptic Avatar
116 months ago
I'm not in Asia, but I have never seen such a sharp rise in the next generation iPhone as I have with the 6. Usually it seems to take longer before I see so many of the latest in the wild.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MattJessop Avatar
116 months ago
Anecdotal, but being in Shanghai recently, at least 1 third of the people I saw all had 6 pluses. Worth noting that the smallest phone size I saw was still around 5 inches, even with the older generations. Crazy.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ryuok Avatar
116 months ago
We have small eyes, so the bigger screens definitely help. ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fallenjt Avatar
116 months ago
Better marketing often beats a better product.

Tell that to the Korean. They turned away from their home company's products.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
ios 17 namedrop

Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

Monday November 27, 2023 5:11 pm PST by
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how NameDrop functions. As noted by The Washington...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
Google Drive

Some Google Drive Users' Files Have Mysteriously Vanished

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:55 am PST by
Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service. Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had...