Apple’s woes, not its gadgets, overshadow tech’s big trade show
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc. won’t be placing a giant booth at the big CES tech trade show starting Sunday in Las Vegas, but its recent sales warning—and the country it blamed for the shortfall—will undoubtedly be the talk of the show.
Typically, Apple casts a shadow over CES due to anticipation for the iphone maker’s next product, competitors racing to beat them to the market and hundreds of accessory makers looking to make a buck on the iphone maker’s platform. This year, Apple’s reduced revenue forecast and whether the flagging Chinese economy will hamper other big electronics companies will vie for attendees’ attention.
Many key suppliers are based in China and may have a harder time securing deals this year, as trade tensions flare and companies in the US seek to avoid tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration or do business with partners viewed as a national security threat.
Apple on Wednesday cut its revenue outlook for the first time in almost two decades, citing weaker demand in China because of the country’s slowing economy and rising trade tensions with the US.
A big question is how much of Apple’s problems can be blamed on China’s economy versus Chinese consumers’ preference for home-grown brands. The falloff in demand for iphones is at least partly explained by its high price and the rise of cheaper, more comparable rival devices in the world’s largest market.
The iphone XS Max, the current top of the iphone range, starts at 9,599 yuan ($1,400) in China. Flagship phones from Huawei Technologies Co. and Oppo cost from 4,000 to 5,000 yuan, around half that of an iphone.