The ban applies to officials who are not the main audience
Reliable analyst and insider Ming-Chi Kuo commented on previous reports that Apple’s sales in China could be hit hard due to the latest bans.
I wouldn’t say that media reports about the Chinese government banning the iPhone are wrong, but such news can easily mislead readers. Currently, members of the Chinese Communist Party, government officials, and employees of state-owned enterprises are not the main target buyers of the iPhone. Moreover, the iPhone ban is an isolated decision of specific government organizations or state-owned enterprises, so the impact of the iPhone ban on iPhone sales in China is negligible.
Following reports that the Chinese government has banned the use of iPhones in government agencies, reports have emerged that China Mobile, a major mobile operator, will not sell the iPhone 15.
The Chinese iPhone ban will have little impact on actual sales of the iPhone 15.
Ming-Chi Kuo added that Huawei’s return will inevitably affect iPhone sales, but the extent of this impact remains to be seen: “This is not showing up in iPhone 15 pre-orders in the Chinese market. Those pre-ordering iPhones are core users or fans of Apple, not the target buyers of current Huawei phones.”
He added that some Chinese sites may be showing inflated pre-order figures for the iPhone (and any other smartphones) because pre-orders do not require a deposit and therefore do not reflect actual demand.
I still stand by my prediction that around 80 million iPhone 15 units will be released this year.
The analyst said that demand for the iPhone 15 Pro Max turned out to be very high, as previously expected, but the iPhone 15 Pro is inferior to the iPhone 14 Pro in pre-orders.
