Cook didn't expect a complete ban on Apple, foreign media sanctions came so quickly!
As the saying goes, Huawei has fallen, Apple is full, Huawei has been suppressed, Kirin chips have been cut off, and relevant American technologies and components cannot be used without special authorization from the United States. As a result, Huawei's vitality was greatly damaged, and the market share of high-end mobile phones that it had managed to conquer could only be handed over to Apple.
This splash has brought Apple's market share in China to a new high, and Apple, which has lost its biggest threat, has also begun to frantically squeeze toothpaste on the product side, from the iPhone 12 to the iPhone 15 for three consecutive generations of products with almost no innovation in appearance and function, just a routine chip upgrade. Because Apple knows that even if it doesn't make any changes, there will be sales, because after losing Huawei and being suppressed, Apple is almost the only choice in the high-end market!
But what Cook didn't expect was that in the last six months, everything has happened so fast since Apple's position took a 180-degree turn, from being high above to being completely sanctioned!
First of all, Apple's market capitalization**! After Apple's market value broke through the 3 trillion yuan mark, almost everyone would think that Apple's market value would continue. But the reality is that after entering 2024, Apple's stock price will usher in"The door is black", three consecutive falling limits have made Apple's market value directly ** by about 127 trillion yuan, its market value was even at risk of being surpassed by Microsoft!
The reason for this phenomenon is that Apple's new iPhone 15 series has sold far less than expected in Chinese mainland, ultimately leading to a lack of investor confidence. On the one hand, the iPhone 15 series has been sluggish in updates, and on the other hand, the Huawei Mate60 series is back strongly with the self-developed Kirin 9000S chip, which poses a big threat to Apple.
And that's exactly what the capacity constraints of the Mate60 series do. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo**, Huawei's mobile phone sales will be around 38 million units in 2023 and 60 million units in 2024. In other words, Huawei's comprehensive comeback this year will further squeeze Apple's living space, and the stock price has become inevitable!
Second, Apple is currently facing litigation and antitrust proceedings. Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an antitrust investigation against Apple, and according to the New York Times, the investigation has entered an advanced stage, and a large-scale lawsuit will be filed against Apple in the first half of 2024!
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a series of charges against Apple, which, according to the DOJ, uses a range of hardware and software means to make it difficult for consumers to abandon the iPhone in favor of Android. For example, the Apple Watch doesn't work with Android phones, Apple doesn't offer iMessage services on Android phones, competitors who don't allow AirTags to use iPhone's location services, and so on. If Apple's infringement is established, it will have to open up access to Android devices, and at the same time face a huge fine, which may further reduce the attractiveness of Apple's phones.
Finally, Apple has been rebuked by several countries for its arrogant attitude. Brazil imposes heavy fines on Apple for not providing chargers, and the Netherlands conducts a ** on Apple's app store. Last year, it also sparked outrage in European countries for making money with MFI certification and sticking to its own unique Lightning connector. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has even nominally criticized Apple's approach, while also saying that it wants to promote the unification of charging interfaces and protocols.
Even so, Apple ignored it. Finally, the EU opted for direct legislation that would require Apple to replace the Type-C interface by the third quarter of 2024 or it would be completely banned! It was only then that Apple finally made up its mind and replaced the Type-C port on the iPhone 15 series.
Apple has done much more than that: in China, while threatening to attach importance to the Chinese market, it has shifted the industrial chain to India; In Russia and Ukraine, after the start of the conflict, Apple directly chose to shut down some services in Russia. Today, Turkey has banned the sale of Apple, and its market share is close to zero, and Russia has banned the use of Apple phones by civil servants, and its market share has fallen to 1%. With the gradual decline of Apple's market share in continental Europe, foreign countries have sighed:"Sanctions"Probably coming soon!