What’s Up With Apple: Number 1 in China, Apple Music Awards and More

For the first time in six years, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) once again has become the top-selling smartphone in the People’s Republic of China. In the month of October, Apple’s market share rose to 22%, surpassing previous leader Vivo, which dropped from 21% in September to 20%.

The data was reported last Friday by Counterpoint Research. Apple’s sales rose by 46% month over month in October, driven by sales of the new iPhone 13 series. China’s smartphone market grew by just 2% month over month.

Research director Tarun Pathak noted that the decline of former share leader Huawei has spread to the premium tier of the market and that Apple, “with its strong brand equity, is gaining the maximum from the gap left by Huawei.” Pathak also commented that Apple could have added more except for its failure to keep the market supplied.

Counterpoint senior analyst Varun Mishra commented on the supply chain issues: “Due to supply issues, the normal wait time for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max ranges between four and five weeks in China. Some Chinese customers choose to pay premiums to get the new phones delivered immediately.” Noting that Apple’s October sales growth is a “positive sign” for the smartphone market in China, Mishra said “It indicates that Chinese smartphone users are maturing fast and are looking to buy more high-end devices, which can be a good opportunity for brands. The supply chain is also prioritizing higher-end and higher-margin devices amid the shortages.”

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Apple announced Tuesday morning the winners of its third annual Apple Music Awards. The company presents the awards in five categories: Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Top Song of the Year and Top Album of the Year. This year the company added another category, Regional Artist of the Year, that recognizes artists in five countries and regions: Africa, France, Germany, Japan and Russia.

Here are the winners:

• The Weeknd – Global Artist of the Year
• Olivia Rodrigo – Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year
• H.E.R. – Songwriter of the Year
• Artist of the Year (Africa)  – Wizkid
• Artist of the Year (France) – Aya Nakamura
• Artist of the Year (Germany) – RIN
• Artist of the Year (Japan) – OFFICIAL HIGE DANDISM
• Artist of the Year (Russia) – Scriptonite

Briefly noted:

Apple could release new colors for its AirPods Max, new AirPods Pro or neither. Macworld has all the rumors and a wish list for new product releases from Apple during December.

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