Apple has already lost its spot as the top phone maker in the world and has seen ~10% drop in smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2024.
👉 Background: Apple released its first iPhone back in 2007, it revolutionised the smartphone market. But 2023 was actually the first year that Apple became the #1 seller of smartphones.
👉 What happened: Sadly for Apple, this has been short-lived as it has already lost its spot as the top phone maker in the world - in the most recent quarter. Apple has seen ~10% drop in smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2024.
👉 What else: In the first quarter of this year, Samsung took more than 20% market share while Apple had just above 17% share. This is largely due to slowing Apple sales in China as government agencies are limiting employees from using Apple devices.
💡When big countries butt heads, it's not just about politics—it hits businesses and the economy too.
💡This kind of tension creates an 'invisible barrier' for companies stuck in the middle and this can significantly impact the sale of products for those companies. For example, Apple has already seen its sales in China drop by 24% in the first six weeks of this year.
💡And this isn’t the first time that geopolitical tension has created barriers for companies in the middle
Remember when China placed tariffs up to 218% on Australian winemakers after tensions with the Australian government.
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