Apple CEO Tim Cook Surprise Visit to China Amid iPhone Sales Drop in the Country’s Market
OVERVIEW: Tim Cook visited China
- Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise visit to China.
- Cook cheered gamers during the event.
- iPhone 15 series sales in China dropped.
Amid the sales drop Apple faces in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a visit to the country. What did he do during his visit?
Cheering the Gamers
Cook attended an event during his surprise visit to China, where he cheered the gamers, underscoring the importance of the country’s market to the iPhone maker when it faces mounting challenges.
Many gamers gathered at an Apple store in Chengdu in southwestern China to play a mobile game, “Honor of Kings.” This game is developed by TiMi Studio, owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent. Currently, “Honor of Kings” is one of the biggest mobile games in China. We learned from a source that this is a substantial revenue driver for Apple’s App Store in the country.
A post on Weibo (a Chinese social media service) wrote Cook’s statement during the event:
“The action-packed Honor of Kings started here in Chengdu and is now a global phenomenon on the App Store.”
According to CNBC, Apple CEO posted a video of himself cheering on gamers at the tournament.
iPhone 15 Sales Dropped in China’s Market
Amid the sales drop of the iPhone 15 in the country after a month, Apple CEO made a surprise visit.
A report from Counterpoint Research on Tuesday ( Oct. 17), said that Phone 15 series unit sales were so low compared to iPhone 14. During the first 17 days, the sales of the new flagship in China only got 4.5%.
On Monday (Oct. 16), a report released by Jefferies said that Huawei has become the No. 1 smartphone maker in China, overtaking Apple.
Last month, Chinese tech giant Huawei and one of its competitors quietly launched a smartphone containing a high-end semiconductor and 5G connectivity, despite U.S. sanctions that have sought to stop that from happening.
Everyone knows that Huawei was once the biggest smartphone maker in China and Apple’s biggest challenger before U.S. sanctions were implemented. After the sanctions became effective, Huawei fell to the No. 6 spot.
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