Tim Cook makes surprise visit to China, seeks to salvage iPhone 15 sales

The event for gamers of the game “Honor of Kings” took place at the Apple Store in Chengdu. The game is developed by TiMi Studio, a game maker owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent.

“This game is a global phenomenon on the App Store,” Tim Cook said in a post on Weibo, adding that the Apple CEO also posted a video cheering on the players in the tournament.

This is the second time Apple CEO Tim Cook has visited China this year, showing the importance of this market to the "Apple House".

"Honor of Kings" is one of China's biggest mobile games and a significant source of revenue for Apple's App Store in the Asian country.

Apple CEO Tim Cook's surprise visit to the company's third-largest market comes less than a month after the iPhone 15 went on sale there and Huawei made a bid to re-enter the mobile market.

Counterpoint Research said that sales of the iPhone 15 series in the first 17 days of sales in China decreased by 4.5% compared to the iPhone 14.

The reason is that mainland mobile giant Huawei, also quietly launched its latest smartphone model, using advanced 5G connectivity chip despite strict sanctions from Washington.

Huawei was once the mainland's largest smartphone maker and Apple's biggest rival before US sanctions cut off the flow of critical technology the company needed to stay competitive.

However, on October 16, Jefferies research recorded Huawei's spectacular comeback, becoming China's number one smartphone manufacturer, surpassing even Apple.

“It’s definitely a tough start for Apple given the combination of factors at play right now,” said Ethan Qi, vice president at Counterpoint Research.

Qi attributed Apple’s challenges to poor consumer sentiment, the iPhone 15’s lower performance compared to the iPhone 14, and increased competition in the premium smartphone market. “All of these combined have caused Apple to lose some of its luster in the first few weeks of the iPhone 15’s launch.

(According to CNBC)

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tim-cook-bat-ngo-tham-trung-quoc-tim-cach-cuu-van-doanh-so-iphone-15-2203388.html