Apple's iPhone fails to close gap against Samsung in China

According to new data out of China, Samsung currently has three times the market share Apple does in what is quickly becoming the most important market in the world.

(Credit: Apple)
Apple is having an exceedingly difficult time trying to match Samsung in China, a new report claims.
According to Bloomberg, which obtained Chinese market share data from research firm Gartner, Samsung's line of smartphones more than triples the market share the iPhone has in that country, nabbing 24.3 percent share, compared to Apple's 7.5 percent.
Apple started selling its iPhone on China Telecom's service last week. China Telecom is the country's second-largest carrier with an estimated 129 million subscribers. That said, the big fish in China is China Mobile, with 650 million subscribers nationwide. Despite its repeated attempts, Apple hasn't been able to bring the iPhone to that service.

In November, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu reported, citing unidentified sources, that China Mobile was willing to ink a deal with Apple on one condition: it would need to receive a slice of App Store revenue. As one might expect, Apple balked at the offer, forcing it to go elsewhere to expand its China footprint.



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