Tech iPhone 16 Japan debut without Apple Intelligence

" In Japan, few people buy iPhones for their advanced technology," said IDC Japan analyst Masafumi Inbe. "The iPhone is ingrained in the culture, and buying an iPhone's just the 'normal' thing. Then, they are taken in by Apple's ecosystem of the Apple Watch, AirPods, AirDrop, iCloud, etc. and continue repurchasing the iPhone." "Japanese consumers do not buy iPhones at a fixed price and usually purchase them on a contract from a telco, and hence few consumers are aware of the rising price of iPhones," Inbe added. "Also, Apple's older models are quite popular with consumers and offer attractive discounts. In other words, their consumption behaviour is less susceptible to price increases." In Japan, 53% of smartphones sold in the second quarter of 2024 were iPhones, according to IDC, with shipments increasing 9% yearly to 3.61 million units. Its closest competitors were Sharp, which had 11%, and Google, which had 9%. Apple "continues to dominate the Japanese market," said Counterpoint Research analyst Varun Mishra. Counterpoint puts Apple's Japan market share at 44% in the second quarter. It estimates the peak of this at 65% in the first quarter of 2022. According to rankings from BCN, a research firm, the two-year-old iPhone 14 is the best-selling model in Japan so far this month. The top six spots on the list are occupied by versions of the iPhone 14 and 15 offered by SoftBank, KDDI and NTT Docomo.

Click to expand...