Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said that China will “soon overtake” the US as the iPhone maker’s largest market, as he met with China Mobile and other operators in the region.
Mr Cook’s comments, in an interview yesterday with the Chinese news site Sina, come amid growing speculation that Apple will release a cheaper iPhone model this year, something analysts say is crucial to gaining share in emerging markets. “China is Apple’s second-biggest market in the world – I believe in the future it will definitely become our biggest market,” he told Sina. “I cannot accurately predict when that will happen, but I have no doubt that this will happen.”
Today, Apple’s sales in China are little more than a third of its US revenues.
Apple’s revenues grew by 83 per cent to $22.8 billion in China in its financial year ending September 2012, compared with 46 per cent growth in the US to $60.9 billion.
According to IDC, the iPhone fell to sixth in the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter
– Copyright 2013 The Financial Times Limited
