China in the second quarter became the biggest iPhone market in the world, overtaking the United States for the first time in history, based on data analyzed by global market research company TechInsights (via The Elec).
According to the research firm's Global Shipment Report, China accounted for 24% of all iPhone shipments in Q2 2023, while the U.S. market accounted for 21%.
The sluggish U.S. smartphone market in the second quarter is said to have been due to the psychology of consumers delaying the purchase of new phones in anticipation of new iPhone models launching in the second half of this year. However, TechInsight said its results at the same time reflected "China's [growing] economic power, the burgeoning middle class, and the premium phone preferences of Chinese consumers."
iPhone 14 Pro Max Was Best-Selling Model
Asian consumers have long been known to prefer larger-sized smartphones, and a separate analysis suggests this factor may have boosted overall sales of iPhone 14 Pro Max models. According to Omdia's Smartphone Model Market Tracker for 2Q23, in the January-to-June period, Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max shipped 26.5 million units globally — the most out of any model from any manufacturer. The iPhone 14 Pro came in second place with 21 million units.
There were no devices from Chinese manufacturers in the top 10, following double-digit declines from 2022 due to a slump in the mid- to low-end smartphone market. Last year, the iPhone 13 was the bestselling device on the market, indicating a preference among consumers for entry-level rather than top-end devices. The landscape appears to have changed since then, with successive smartphones offering incremental upgrades over wholesale changes and a growing malaise among consumers pushing them to higher-end models.
That trend is expected to continue, and Apple will likely milk the situation this year by further differentiating between its iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro lineup. Not only is Apple expected to make its new, more powerful A17 processor exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro, the company is also expected to segment its higher tier options by reserving periscope zoom lens technology for the top-end iPhone 15 Pro Max as a standout feature.
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience.
Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
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Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier.
Over the last month, the highest-end Apple One Premier plan has gained two additional perks.
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Apple TV+
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Apple News+
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Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
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YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
Apple employees are internally testing iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released in the next week or two.
iOS 18.3.2 will be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Don't expect any new features.
iOS 18.3.2 will be an interim...
Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:33 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.2 and iOS 18.3.2 come a month after Apple released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release...
Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited.
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...
I many Asian countries it is expected that you always buy the most expensive stuff that you can afford. So if you do not have an expensive phone, people will think you are poor and have less respect for you. The same is true for clothes, cars, houses and other stuff.
So, it's basically the same as in Western countries.
I many Asian countries it is expected that you always buy the most expensive stuff that you can afford. So if you do not have an expensive phone, people will think you are poor and have less respect for you. The same is true for clothes, cars, houses and other stuff. That is typical in economies that are quite new to capitalism and have a huge GPD growth.
People in China pay insane amounts of money on luxury brands, even if they can hardly afford them. It might take a few more decades before they will realize that buying things to impress other people is a waste of money. Until then they will buy a lot of much too expensive cars and other stuff.
Most Chinese do not really have the money to afford an iPhone, but they will do it anyway because of social pressure. Of course there are many rich people in China, but only 100 million or so of the 1.4 billion have an income that would be considered at least average in a western country.
In China you can even buy phone cases that make other phones look like an iPhone. That shocked me very much.
I many Asian countries it is expected that you always buy the most expensive stuff that you can afford. So if you do not have an expensive phone, people will think you are poor and have less respect for you. The same is true for clothes, cars, houses and other stuff. That is typical in economies that are quite new to capitalism and have a huge GPD growth.
People in China pay insane amounts of money on luxury brands, even if they can hardly afford them. It might take a few more decades before they will realize that buying things to impress other people is a waste of money. Until then they will buy a lot of much too expensive cars and other stuff.
Most Chinese do not really have the money to afford an iPhone, but they will do it anyway because of social pressure. Of course there are many rich people in China, but only 100 million or so of the 1.4 billion have an income that would be considered at least average in a western country.
In China you can even buy phone cases that make other phones look like an iPhone. That shocked me very much.
Apple products & iPhone in particular, have been aspirational products since their launch, it's hardly surprising that people in many country's aspire to have the best. Also the fact is, that Apple products last twice as long as Android & PC, so smart people recognise, that long term, they're actually cheaper and better value for money. For instance I've got a MacBook Pro 13" M1, it's almost 3 years old, never gone wrong on me and it's still worth over £500, I would be lucky to get £150 for an equivalent PC. My 13 Pro is still worth over £700 after 2 years and so on......
