In China, more and more employees fear that they will be the next to have to change their iPhone for a smartphone from another brand. From the public service to private companies, the wave of bans is spreading.
While Apple refines the final details of its September 12 keynote (the iPhone 15 is expected), in China, the presence of the American brand is increasingly problematic. On Weibo, the Chinese alternative of X (formerly Twitter), more and more people are expressing their need to leave Apple to equip themselves with a smartphone from another brand.
A decision that more and more employees are taking under the duress of their bosses, also motivated by the State and its suspicions of espionage by the United States via the apple brand. “Waste” some criticize, a means to “avoid trouble” others explain.
To read the Wall Street Journal, the Bloomberg agency and the Weibo platform, Beijing is reportedly undertaking a new chapter in reducing its dependence on foreign technologies, which will also be seen as one more measure in the context of the trade war with the United States . The number of employees concerned is increasing, and so is the range of companies. This no longer only concerns ministries.
The measures are not comprehensive, but while state-owned companies and organizations associated with the government no longer have a choice, bosses of private companies could be motivated to do the same.
Without seeking to contribute to trade penalties against the United States, private companies could participate in the wave of bans by using the risk of information leaks as an argument.
Read The Chinese government no longer wants the iPhone in the administration
“My husband’s workplace no longer allows him to use Apple for fear of leaks. He must obtain a local device »wrote an Internet user on Weibo, cited by Business Insider. “Today I went to the office and heard that the company no longer allows us to use Apple phones”added another.
Other American brands are affected, in other markets, such as Tesla in the automobile sector or HP and Microsoft in the computer sector.
Apple, second brand in China
In China, more than 150,000 companies are state-owned enterprises, mainly in construction, transport, energy and even banking. For example, in France, there are 1,355 public companies.
Enough to justify the wind of protest on social networks, especially since in China a third of the smartphones sold are iPhones. During the last quarter of 2022, Apple was the second brand in the Chinese market, according to figures from Counterpoint Research. A historic first which represents no less than 19% of the brand’s turnover globally – or $15.8 billion.
As a leader, today it is no longer Xiaomi or Samsung who sell the most in China, but Oppo. Samsung, over the period of the first quarter of 2023, also saw its sales decline by 11% on the market while also at the global level, total sales in the smartphone market have never been so low since 2016.
Source :
Wall Street Journal
