With more than a billion people and the fastest growing smartphone market in the world, it’s no surprise that China is quickly become Apple’s most important market. For the first time ever, China has surpassed the United States in terms of iPhone sales and has surpassed Europe to become Apple’s biggest market outside of the Americas.
Designed by Apple in California—that nod to its home state has appeared on Apple products for years, but increasingly, Apple’s gadgets are being sold far from its Cupertino headquarters. In the first three months of this year, iPhone sales in China surpassed those in the U.S. for the first time. Also for the first time, China jumped ahead of Europe as Apple’s biggest overall market after the Americas. Can the day be far off when Apple sells more in China than it does at home? The idea isn’t as far fetched as you might think. Thanks to the dominant role the iPhone plays in Apple’s revenue and the considerable untapped demand among China’s burgeoning middle class, sales aren’t showing any signs of stopping. Danny Yu, a 32-year-old in Beijing, is just one of the many iPhone users in the city. He says people are buying iPhones because the products are considered fashionable and the Apple brand is popular.
