Tired of ads? Enjoy an ad-free experience by signing up.
Rick Martin · · 2 min read

iPhone 5 Has Yet to Launch in China, But Already Looks to Have a Foothold

iphone-5-taobao

iPhone 5 for sale on taobao.com

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 has yet to officially launch in China, but that hasn’t kept it from grabbing what could be as much as 0.1 percent of the smartphone market as of September, says China-based mobile metrics company Umeng [1]. The iPhone 5 is expected to launch in the country before year’s end.

That figure is likely much higher by now, and the company points out that most of these early adopters live in the richer regions of Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Beijing. This interesting phenomenon also occurred with the iPhone 4S prior to its launch, says Umeng.

Overall, Apple still reigns supreme in smartphone market share according to Umeng’s metrics, with about a 33 percent share in the third quarter, although that’s down from 38 percent in the second quarter.

Umeng’s report is an interesting read, not just for Apple watchers, but for Android as well, as it gives an interesting breakdown of the most popular brands in the country, where hometown favorite Lenovo makes a surprise appearance, just behind leader Samsung and second place HTC.

You can check out the report in its entirely below, or over on Slideshare.


  1. Umeng has gathered data from tens of thousands of smartphones across the nation, via its app cross-promotion platform — so this is observed activity, and not sales. It’s also not a huge sample size, but one that is big enough to be significant, we think.  ↩

Stay ahead in Asia’s tech landscape

You've reached your 2 free content limit for the month. Sign up for free to read the full story.

🏄 For casual readers / 👶 Free

Basic

US$0

Free forever

Get instant access to this article and more every month

0 premium content

Unlimited news briefs

5

5 articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0 per day

⌛Sign up in 20s. No payment details needed.

📖 For learners / 👍 Starter

Lite

US$4.92/month

Billed annually at US$59/year

Get instant access to this article and more every month

4

4 premium content

Unlimited news briefs & articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0.17 per day

Cancel anytime

Our subscriber community includes professionals from these companies:

Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.

Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.

Community Writer

Rick Martin

Rick Martin lives in Tokyo where he writes about technology in Japan, China, and around Asia. After writing full-time for TechInAsia from 2011 to January 2013, he moved on to pastures new at The Bridge. He can be reached via his website, 1Rick.com