Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s New China Numbers: What You’ve Gotta See

If Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans on continuing its dominance in the smartphone market, it will need to expand into emerging markets in the near future. This is something we discussed yesterday in this piece.

There is no denying the fact that Apple wants to spend more of its resources in China. However, the competition in this country is quite strong. While Cupertino is well aware that this market is one that it needs to target, taking over a larger piece of the pie is easier said than done.

With that in mind, it is important to note that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a few possibilities for making up ground in a hurry. As noted in our article yesterday, a cheaper alternative to the current iPhone is one way for the company to make waves and show the market that it is serious about becoming the leader.

According to a report by DigiTimes, citing a study from Analysys International, smartphone sales in China during the first quarter of 2013 were quite robust.

Here is what the article had to say:

“There were 90.54 million handsets sold in the China market during first-quarter 2013, growing 23.5% sequentially and 34.8% on year, and 75.28 million units of them were smartphones, increasing 32.2% sequentially and 141.5% on year.”

Now do you see why Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is looking to grab more market share in China? If this type of growth continues, it will be amazing to see where the market in China stands next year at this time.

With a nearly 150 percent increase in sales, year over year, the smartphone market in China is booming with a variety of companies looking to get in on the action.

With all this in mind, you may be wondering how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is performing at this time.

Fortunately, the same study touched on the top manufacturers in its “Main smartphone vendors in China by sales volume, 1Q13” graph.

At the top is Samsung with 17.3 percent market share. It is followed by Lenovo, Coolpad, Huawei, ZTE, and finally Apple.

Right now, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is holding onto 6.4 percent of the market.

As is the case in many parts of the world, Cupertino will be competing directly with Samsung for top honors.

What are your thoughts on how Apple is performing in China? Could a cheaper iPhone be what it needs to grab more market share?