Alphabet Inc’s Google Pixel is eroding the iPhone’s dominance in Japan as the Apple Inc device gets pricier, finding success after years of misfires.
Google phones accounted for a record 12 percent share in the Asian country in the June quarter, six times what it was a year ago, according to Counterpoint Research data. During the same period, the iPhone’s market share slumped by almost as much: to 46 percent from 58 percent a year earlier.
Japan is a key arena for the two Silicon Valley firms, as the world’s third-biggest economy and a huge market for mobile software and games. The iPhone has been as dominant there as at home in the US, and its decline this summer was the first time it commanded less than half the Japanese market in two years.
Photo: AFP
The plunging value of the yen pushed Apple to raise iPhone prices in Japan earlier than its recent global price hikes, and the cost of the device is proving a noticeable deterrent, at a time when the latest handsets have not offered must-have new features.
“Japanese users are becoming more pragmatic,” Counterpoint analyst Tom Kang said in an interview in Seoul. “There’s now more opportunity for alternatives. We’ve seen a little bit of growth in Sony and a little bit of growth in some other brands, but the growth of Google was most surprising.”
The yen’s weakness has also helped juice the Pixel’s sales. It makes the phone a bargain for consumers outside of Japan who want to buy the phone. The Pixel is offered in a limited number of countries and the yen’s slide toward its lowest level in more than three decades has made Japan the cheapest place to purchase the device.
“Japan is becoming the trans-shipment hub for Google Pixel devices,” Kang said. “So the iPhone is suffering from a weak yen and Google is benefiting from it.”
The sales drop in Japan highlights the challenges ahead for Apple. The company posted its third straight quarter of declining sales and predicted a similar performance in the current period, hurt by an industry-wide slump that has sapped demand for phones.
The release of Apple’s latest iPhone 15 series might give its market share a bump, although the starting price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max was raised by US$100 this year after eliminating a smaller storage tier offered in past years. Google is set to launch its latest Pixel device generation at an event on Wednesday next week.
“Price is becoming an important factor,” Kang said. “Loyalty for Apple and iOS is much higher than Android, I’d say. But Android devices always have the price advantage.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the