Apple Inc.’s shares pared their loss amid a global market retreat after Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told CNBC’s Jim Cramer the iPhone maker has seen “strong growth” in China this summer.
Cramer said he received an e-mail from Cook saying iPhone activations have accelerated in China in recent weeks and the country “represents an unprecedented opportunity over the long term.” An Apple representative confirmed the e-mail.
Shares of the Cupertino, California-based company fell as much as 13 percent early Monday -- their biggest intraday drop in five years -- before climbing after CNBC’s report. The stock had been up midday as the broader market recovered much of its loss and closed 2.5 percent lower at $103.12 in New York.
Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR & Co., maintained his outperform rating on Apple stock, citing the coming iPhone 6S and a “$100 billion market opportunity” over the next three years in China.
“Apple is a uniquely compelling name to buy in this hurricane-like market downdraft this morning,” Ives wrote in a note to investors.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s chief executive officer exhorted employees Tuesday to ignore plunging stock markets after the e-commerce giant’s shares fell below their initial public offering price for the first time.
Daniel Zhang, who took the helm of Asia’s largest Internet company three months ago, penned a memo urging his 35,000 workers to brush aside the market turmoil. Alibaba has lost about $128 billion in market value since its November peak amid a slowing Chinese economy.
“This is not the first time that the global stock market has plunged,” Zhang wrote in the e-mail. “It is not the last time, either. I hope everyone can shift the focus from the stock market to customers.”
Alibaba fell 3.5 percent Monday to close at $65.80 in New York, dropping below its September IPO price of $68 as a global market rout revived investors’ concerns about the company’s sales growth. U.S. stocks plunged Monday, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sinking into a correction, after Chinese shares tumbled the most since 2007.
“Let’s forget about the stock prices,” Zhang wrote. “We should not be distracted by short-term obstacles, but plan for the future and stick to it.”
The Hangzhou-based company’s shares peaked at $119.15 in November, with investors eager to reach Alibaba’s more than 300 million customers. Their subsequent decline has been fueled by concerns about the decelerating Chinese economy, increased competition from JD.com Inc. and government reports that Alibaba wasn’t doing enough to weed out counterfeit goods on its site.
“Sometimes it is a lonely journey, sticking to your principles,” Zhang wrote. “But we have to go through lots of ups and downs during this journey. We are not in a single fight, but a fight that lasts for 102 years.”
Billionaire co-founder and Chairman Jack Ma referred to Alibaba’s 102-year journey in an investor letter appended to its original IPO prospectus.
Zhang, one of the key architects of Alibaba’s successful “Singles Day” shopping gala, replaced Jonathan Lu as CEO in May
The country's central bank slashes interest rates for the fifth time since November as markets fret on its economic health. China has cut core interest rates in a renewed bid to stimulate its slowing economy and help arrest a sell-off of Chinese stocks. It is the fifth time in nine months that the People's Bank of China (PBoC) - the country's central bank - has slashed borrowing costs and loan rates. The move follows a crash in values on domestic Chinese stock markets.The collapse in investor confidence spilled over onto world stock indices, resulting in two days of sharp selling thoughvalues in Europe have recovered well on Tuesday. That rally was extended in Europe when news broke of the PBoC's intervention. The central bank said the benchmark rate for a one-year loan would be cut by 0.25 percentage point to 4.6% and the one-year rate for deposits would fall by a similar margin to 1.75%. It also increased the amount of money available for lending by reducing the minimum reserves banks are required to hold by 0.5%. The moves had been anticipated by financial analysts after exports, manufacturing and other economic indicators weakened by larger margins than expected in the latest data round. It has deepened fears that the slowdown in the world's second-largest economy is more entrenched than official statistics suggest. China's economic growth has been a strong driver of recovery in the west since the financial crisis.
Twitter's shares have lost over 12% of their value this week as efforts to replace its old boss, Dick Costolo, continues.
Mr Costolo's resignation announcement in early June came alongside a statement saying that Twitter's co-founder, Jack Dorsey, would replace him but that such a move would only be "temporary".
In the months preceding his departure, Mr Costolo had come under increasing investor scrutiny, with shares in the company falling by almost a third in the two months before he resigned.
Dick Costolo stepped down as Twitter CEO on 1 July
Since then, the shares have fallen a further 31% as investors fret over the speed and quality of Mr Costolo's replacement.
In addition recent financial results have disappointed with growth rates in monthly active users slowing in the second quarter.
Twitter's inferiority to Facebook from a revenue generating perspective is a concern, with Facebook generating 71% more revenue per active user than Twitter in the three months to 30 June.
Twitter shares closed down 7% at $25.67 in New York after taking into account after hours trading - an all-time low and below its 2013 initial public offering price of $26.
Since its shares peaked in December 2013 nearly $30bn has been wiped off the value of the company.
Interim CEO Jack Dorsey
Twitter’s interim-CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey briefly stemmed the share prices decline as it was announced to the market that he had bought $875,000 worth of Twitter shares on 7 August.
Since then that investment has already lost $61,000 in value, but this is unlikely to trouble the tech star who is worth an estimated $2.4bn.
To add to Twitter’s woes it was reported earlier this week that several top Ivy League universities have been offloading their Twitter holdings.
Speculation over the identity of - or even potential candidates for - its new boss has been varied, with even the rapper Snoop Dogg throwing his hat in the ring.
Adam Bain - an internal candidate to be Twitter's new CEO?
More recently it has been rumoured that Adam Bain, Head of Revenue and Partnerships at Twitter, is an internal candidate for the position.
Apple is offering a free fix for some iPhone 6 Plus devices because of faulty cameras which take blurry photographs.
Apple says customers with the affected phones can have their back cameras replaced hassle-free.
The phones affected were mainly sold between the September 2014 release date and January 2015.
The firm says that only a "small percentage" of devices are affected, and the problem only occurs on the main back-mounted camera, and not the front-facing camera.
iPhone owners who want to check to see whether their device is eligible for a fix can enter their serial number on this web page.
To find your serial number go to settings, then tap 'general' then 'about'.
Apple said: "Apple has determined that, in a small percentage of iPhone 6 Plus devices, the iSight camera has a component that may fail causing your photos to look blurry."
Eligible customers will have their phones repaired for free by taking it into an Apple store or by contacting technical support team.
Customers are advised to back up their data before sending phones to be repaired.
The next version of the iPhone - expected to be called the iPhone 6S - is due to be announced in just over two weeks' time.
Watchmaker Swatch has only just trademarked Apple founder Steve Jobs' famous "one more thing" catchphrase - now it has taken a swipe at the firm's smartwatch.
In what appears to be the latest attempt to rile Apple, Swatch chief executive Nick Hayek dismissed the newly released Apple Watch as an "interesting toy" which is not a "revolution".
He also said it was a strategic decision by the Swiss watchmaker to avoid creating its own smartwatch, highlighting the fact that Apple's gadget needs to be charged once a day as one of the reasons why.
Mr Hayek made the comments to a Swiss newspaper just days after the company unexpectedly trademarked the term "one more thing" for marketing purposes.
As well as being the catchphrase of TV detective Columbo, the line was also regularly used by Apple founder Steve Jobs.
He used the phrase at Apple launch events to unveil an unexpected new product - just as the audience thought they had seen everything.
Apple news site Cult of Mac said the trademark move was a "jealous, petty way of striking back at people who are doing better than you".
Swatch co-creator Elmar Mock has previously warned that the Apple Watch would "put a lot of pressure on the traditional watch industry and jobs in Switzerland".
A year ago Swatch tried to block Apple from registering the trademark to the term 'iWatch' because it said it was too similar to its own brand name.
It eventually relented and let the trademark registration go ahead unchallenged.
Sony's new SmartBand fitness tracker can deliver smartphone notifications, as well as monitoring pulse and heart rate variability
Sony has unveiled its second generation fitness tracker, the SmartBand 2, featuring a new heart-rate sensor and a selection of smartwatch-like features that allow users to receive smartphone notifications on their wrist.
The Smartband 2 has the same "core" form factor as its predecessor, with accelerometer and heart rate sensors working together to monitor pulse and heart rate variability, and automatically tracking activities such as walking, running and other workouts.
It also provides sleep insights, with automatic sleep detection and a smart alarm clock function, which gently vibrates to wake the user up at the best time, based on their sleep cycle.
Sony’s Lifelog app helps users keep track of their progress, and provides "inspiring motivational prompts" based on the user's activity.
However, the Smartband 2 offers more functionality than a traditional fitness tracker, notifying users of incoming calls, messages, emails and tweets with vibrations and pulsing LED lights.
Users can also control the music on their smartphone or tablet from their Smartband 2, by tapping to play, pause and skip through tracks.
The Smartband 2 has a waterproof silicone casing and a metal fastening clip. It has a 2-day battery life and will be available in black and white at launch, with pink and indigo versions following shortly afterwards.
The SmartBand 2 will launch in 60 countries worldwide from September 2015. Sony has not announced a UK price but it will cost €119 (£85) in the rest of Europe.
Analysts as IDC predict that 72.1 million wearable devices will be shipped in 2015, with fitness trackers like the Sony SmartBand, Fitbit and Jawbone Up leading the charge.
However, the launch of the Apple Watch earlier this year has increased demand for wearable devices with broader functionality.
Apple is expected to unveil its next generation of iPads - including the extra large iPad Pro - in the autumn. Read on for all the reported release dates, specs and features so far
Apple has been rumoured to have been working on a larger, business-focused iPad for some time now, with new internal details, alleged specs and features emerging online every few weeks. Here is everything we know so far, including the slated reveal date.
The iPad Pro and iPad mini 4
Should the rumours prove correct, the new iPad - dubbed the iPad Pro by Apple fans - would be Apple's largest yet. A new iPad mini 4 is also expected to make an appearance during the big reveal. Thaiwanese siteDigitimes has claimed the iPad Air 2 will not see a third generation model reveal during the same event.
Bigger is better
The iPad Air 2, released in October last year, measures 9.7-inches diagonally, while the mini 3 clocks in at 7.9-inches. Leaks suggest the iPad pro - or iPad Plus - will measure between 12.2 - 12.9-inches, with dimensions of 305.3 x 220.8 x 7mm.
The resolution is believed to be 2732 x 2048 with 263 ppi (compared to the current iPad Air 2's 2048 x 1536), following some digging by analystics company AppSee into their logs.
A display that size would be bigger than the most recently announced 12-inch MacBook, and would suggest a move away from casual web browsing and gaming and into more business-facing ventures. A larger display could also mean the long-awaited introduction of multi-tasking for iOS, allowing users to run multiple apps on-screen simultaneously as announced with iOS 9 at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in June.
The screen is also alleged to sport improved touch latency for using Apple Watch feature Force Touch - which makes it possible to perform a variety of different actions in different apps using the same surface - and use with a Bluetooth-enabled stylus assembled by manufacturer Cheng Uei.
A stylus?
Apple could be poised to reverse its long-standing aversion to styli. Former chief executive Steve Jobs was vocal in his dislike of the accessory, saying in 2007: “Who wants a stylus? You have to get them and put them away, you lose them, yuck! Nobody wants a stylus.”
Apple has filed numerous patents around stylus use with iPads in the past, but no official Apple product has made it to market as of yet. Styli manufactured by third parties have been on sale since the introduction of the very first iPad in 2010.
The pressure-sensitive stylus could be developed to support 3D handwriting and wireless charging in the future, he said, but it's unlikely these features would be included in any product released in 2015.
A stylus is another indication the product is destined for an enterprise / student market given the handwriting recognition and precision it affords. Last year, the company teamed up with IBM to create mobile apps for businessesand for IBM to help sell iPads to corporate customers.
What will it look like?
in January, a user on China's Weibo microblogging site posted a photo of what appeared to be a mould for the rear shell of the tablet, with an estimated display size of 12-13 inches. The photo was simply labeled "iPad Pro".
The picture of the reported mould was uploaded to Weibo
The photo was reportedly taken at Apple manufacturer Foxconn's factory in China. Although the image is blurred, it does appear to show a faint impression of an Apple logo in the centre and perhaps a rear camera feature in a corner.
When will it be available?
Production has been rumoured to be delayed until September over issues with the display panels, people familiar with the matters told Bloomberg. Apple's display suppliers include Sharp, Japan Display and LG Display, according to the company’s supplier list. Share prices at all three companies fell in March following the news.
The time frame suggests the iPad Pro could be announced alongside the next cycle of iPhones, believed to be called the iPhone 6s, alongside a new Apple TVexpected to be on Wednesday September 9, or at a separate event in October like the iPad Air 2 and mini 3's launch event, should Apple choose to stick to the launch cycle of recent years.
MacRumourshas speculated that logs from analytics company AppSee found an iPad with a resolution of 2,732 x 2,048 in its logs running iOS 9.1, suggesting that is the version the iPad Pro will ship with - pointing to a late October or even November event.
KGI predicts that Apple stands to sell up to 5.5 million iPad Pros before the end of the year, and just under one million styli.
Samsung has launched its mobile wallet service Samsung Pay in South Korea.
It joins Apple - which launched a rival facility last year - in trying to convince shoppers to use their handsets, rather than plastic cards, to make in-store purchases.
And Samsung believes it has one critical fact that will work in its favour: its tech works with a much larger number of existing payment terminals.
In truth, it's still unclear whether using mobiles to buy goods offline has much appeal beyond a novelty factor when it comes to non-geek members of the public.
But with two of the biggest names in tech betting their mobile payment services will help their handsets stand out, the days of slipping a bulky wallet into your pocket or handbag could be numbered.
Let's start with the basics - where in the world can you use it?
launch, Samsung Pay is only available in the company's home country.
But it will expand to the US on 28 September, and the firm has indicated that the UK, Spain and China will be next to get the facility sometime in the near-future.
That signals a more aggressive rollout than Apple Pay, which currently remains limited to the US and UK.
However, there are two other additional factors to consider.
Samsung Pay will only work with the firm's newest Android smartphones:
Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 Edge
Galaxy S6 Edge+
Galaxy Note 5
And bank/credit card providers involved must be signed up to the scheme.
How would I use it?
nlike Google Wallet and several other earlier payment apps, there's no need to unlock the phone and launch a special app to get started.
Assuming you've already entered your payment card details, all you need do is swipe up from the bottom of the device's face and Samsung Pay will appear, even if the screen was turned off to begin with.
Next, pick a credit card and scan your fingerprint or provide a Pin code.
Finally, you have to bring the phone close to the payment terminal within 15 seconds to complete the sale.
Will stores need to install special machines first?
No - it should be able to work with two existing types of widely used kit.
Like Apple Pay, Samsung's service is designed to work existing "tap-and-go" terminals that use near field communication (NFC) transmissions. This is the technology that was widely deployed across the UK alongside the introduction of chip-and-pin cards.
But Samsung Pay's added trick is that it also works with magnetic stripe readers, which remain popular in the US and Asia.
This is thanks to a proprietary technology it calls Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST).
"Rather than swiping the card, which normally transmits the data, we are using electronic signals [made by alternating current through] coils inside the phone to send the signal over," Thomas Ko, vice president of Samsung Pay, explained to the BBC.
"So, from the machine's perspective it is actually receiving the same amount of information that it would from a magnetic reader."
Samsung has been able to deploy the innovation thanks to its takeover of LoopPay - an American company that initially tried to pioneer the tech via bulky add-on smartphone cases.
Is that safe? Couldn't someone steal my account details by "eavesdropping" on the transmission?
Payment cards have indeed been successfully targeted by thieves who clone the details coded on their magnetic stripes.
However, Samsung Pay uses a security system called tokenisation to protect against this threat.
Rather than transmitting the same, static "primary account number" (Pan) each time, a Samsung Pay handset instead sends:
a 16-digit "token" - this is unique to each payment card stored on each handset and represents the relevant bank/credit card account without revealing the actual account's details
a cryptogram - a one-use code generated by an encryption key stored on the handset
These two sets of data are sent to the payment processor, who checks they correspond before authorising the payment.
Even if a thief were able to get close enough to intercept the transmission, there is no way for them to reverse-engineer the token to deduce the victim's card account details.
And they would not be able to use the token with another magstripe reader unless they also had a way to generate a matching cryptogram. That should should be next to impossible to do without access to the encryption key.
The system works without changes having to be made to the magstripe machine itself. It treats MST transmissions as if they are a traditional card swipe.
So, Samsung Pay has a big advantage over Apple Pay?
Yes - but it's unlikely that many people will be swayed from Apple's iOS ecosystem solely because of the type of mobile payments Samsung supports.
Perhaps the more important comparison is with Android Pay - Google's forthcoming mobile wallet service.
Google is also pitching its service as simple to use because it doesn't need a special app to be launched. But it will require payment terminals to offer NFC support.
Even so, one shouldn't totally discount app-based rivals - especially if they can offer distinctive services of their own.
In South Korea Kakao Pay also allows users to make money transfers to each other and AliPlay does something similar in China. Meanwhile, in the US the forthcoming CurrentC service is promising "exclusive offers" to its users.
Samsung has introduced the better, sleeker Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Note 5 updates to its mega-successful giant phone lineup.
Both new phones try to give users as much screen space and processing power as possible in a more solid and slimmer design than their giant-screened predecessors, the Note 4 and the Note 4 Edge (now rebranded S Edge+).
The Galaxy Note 5
1.Slightly smaller and thinner. At less than 0.3 inches thin, six-inches long and less than three-inches wide, the metal and glass bodied Note 5 is smaller than the Note 4 without sacrificing any of its giant 5.7-inch screen size. Samsung said this phone was designed with multitasking in mind.
2. Better camera. Samsung bumped up the selfie camera to 5 MP in the Note 5 (up from 3.7 MP in the Note 4). Like the Galaxy S6 Edge+, video shot on the Note 5 can be viewed on a 4K TV. For all you Periscope and Meerkat lives-streamers -- there is also a brand new full HD Live Broadcast feature, which lets you stream video privately or publicly to YouTube.
3. An improved pen. The Note's signature "S Pen" stylus got some upgrades. You can now write things down even when the screen is off. There's a scroll capture feature, which will let you screen-shot an entire website from top to bottom, and a way to save an image of just part of a page.
4. Battery life could be a bit worse. The Note 4 had a 3220 milliampere battery, while the new Note 5 has a smaller 3000 mAh battery. It's unclear yet what that will mean for battery life -- sometimes software upgrades can improve battery-life more than smaller batteries shorten it.
But Samsung also said its wireless charging has improved so that a full charge takes two hours now instead of three. If you use a cord, expect to wait an hour and a half.
5. Four color options and two memory size options: black (which sometimes looks like a dark blue), white, gold, and silver. In the United States, only the black and gold will be available. It comes with either 32 GB or 64 GB of memory storage. Samsung has removed ability to add expandable memory.
6. Prepare to pay at least $250. That's how much a 32 GB version with a two-year AT&T or Sprint contract will cost. A hundred dollars more will get you a 64 GB version. Without a commitment, expect to hand over $740 or $840 at AT&T, and about $20 less at Sprint.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+
1. Screen is curved on both sides, and it's very light. Unlike the Note 4 Edge, which was only curved on the right side, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ curves on both edges. Similar to the smaller Galaxy S6 Edge, the Edge+ 5.7-inch screen allows users to program shortcuts that can be accessed while the phone is face down.
2. Same camera, better filming and broadcasting. The Edge+ features a 16 MP rear camera and 5 MP front camera. Video shot on this phone should look good on a 4K TV, and there is a new live-stream feature which lets you broadcast to contacts or on YouTube live in HD.
3. Only two memory storage sizes. The new phone has a 4 GB RAM and comes in either a 32 GB or 64 GB size. (The Edge also has a 128 GB option.) Samsung has removed ability to add expandable memory.
4. Battery should last longer, but it's still not great. With 3000mAh, it's exactly the same as last year's Note 4 but a bit better than the Edge, which has a 2600mAh battery.
5. There are four two color options: black, white, silver, and gold. In the U.S., only the black and white will be available.
6. It gets expensive. A no-contract 64 GB sized Edge+ will run you $915 at AT&T, or $888 at Sprint. With a two-year agreement, it's $400 at AT&T or $450 at Sprint.
The smaller sized 32 GB will cost $300 with a AT&T contract, and $814 without. Sprint's 2-year agreement deal is $350, and $792 without a contract.
There was once a time when serious people dismissed touchscreen smartphones, claiming they were impractical for writing emails and text messages. BlackBerry, with its full qwerty keyboard, was the mobile device of choice for business users and, for a time, teenagers.
Today, most smartphones are touchscreen, and BlackBerry's share of the market has plummeted, but there are still a few die-hard BlackBerry fans who continue to cling onto their tiny plastic keyboards.
Now Samsung is going after those people, with a hideous plastic keyboard of its own. The company has launched a new smartphone cover for itsGalaxy S6 Edge+ or Note 5 smartphones that doubles up as a physical qwerty keyboard.
By clipping this onto the front of their phone, the display will adjust to fit the available space and they can type away to their heart's content. When they've finished, they can simply remove the keyboard and clip it onto the back of the device for safe keeping, returning the display to full-screen mode.
Samsung showed off the new case at its Unpacked event on Thursday and, when we tested it out, it actually worked quite well. Predictably, however, the BlackBerry-esque keyboard has become the source of much mirth and ridicule online:
BlackBerry has updated the "Passport," its oddball, square smartphone.
Announced Tuesday, the BlackBerry(BBRY, Tech30) Passport Silver Edition is an upgraded version of the BlackBerry Passport, released in late 2014.
The Silver Edition has a 4.5" square screen, 13 MP camera and the latest BlackBerry operating system -- the same as the original Passport. But a closer look tells you why this BlackBerry isn't going to make you yawn and move on.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based firm has been listening to its customers and implementing subtle but necessary changes.
"We strive to deliver products that combine cutting-edge technology with purposeful, globally recognized design, and the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition is the latest manifestation of this vision," Scott Wenger, Global Head of Design at BlackBerry, said in the press release.
BlackBerry claims that the design improvements make communication easier.
"It brings together BlackBerry's latest OS platform, enhanced productivity features, and a refined industrial design based on customer and user feedback to deliver an unmatched experience for professionals who value precision and focus," Wenger said.
A new stainless steel body adds strength and durability. A textured back and rounded bottom edges that don't jab you when you type will go a long way with BlackBerry fans.
And if you feel as strongly about a physical keyboard as Kim Kardashian does, you're still in luck. The physical tap-tap-tap is here to stay. The trackpad capability across the improved keyboard is ideal for those who resent touchscreens.
Makers of this business-phone have made smart changes. With every enhancement, BlackBerry hit two birds with one stone: aesthetics and functionality.
The BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition is priced at only $50 more than its predecessor. It started retail in North America through ShopBlackBerry.com for $549. It will become available internationally in the coming weeks.
Customers who order the phone before 19th August may be eligible for $130 worth free bonus accessories too.
Windows 10 on a PC is great. On a phone? Not so much.
Microsoft will be releasing Windows 10 on mobile devices this fall, running a similar but fine-tuned for mobile experience that the company built for PCs. Windows 10 Mobile is currently available in beta.
Microsoft(MSFT, Tech30) seems to have built a beautiful solution in search of a problem. "Windows 10 Mobile," as it's now called, is customizable, colorful and intuitive. I just can't figure out whom Microsoft built it for.
The slate of phones that run Windows are good but not great, and Microsoft has a well-known mobile app deficiency and quality problem.
So unless you're an ironic hipster, you're probably only going to buy a Windows phone if you're an ardent Microsoft fan.
But even if you ask Cortana to set all your reminders, use Office 365 to create all your documents, spend all day on your Xbox and have a Satya Nadella poster in your bedroom, there still isn't much about Windows 10 Mobile that Android or the iPhone can't do.
The opposite doesn't hold, though. There's lots you can do on your iPhone or Android you can't do on your Windows 10 Mobile phone.
As Windows 10 (mostly for PCs) is expected to run on 1 billion devices in a couple years, Microsoft hopes that the number of apps grows. Until then, let's look at how the preview build of Windows 10 Mobile is shaping up.
But the iPhone 6 aura dimmed soon enough, opening the door for challengers to take over the top spot.
Xiaomi, the Chinese upstart and most-valuable startup in the world, commanded 15.9% of the smartphone market in China during the second quarter, according to tech research firm Canalys. Huawei, which is China's fastest-growing smartphone maker, was in close second with 15.7%.
Apple was in third, with Samsung and Vivo rounding out the top five.
"Competition among major brands has never been so intense," said Jingwen Wang, analyst at Canalys, in a research note published late Monday. "Apple and Samsung have both increased their sales activities in the China market. Xiaomi is under immense pressure to maintain its top position in the quarters to come."
Wang said that Huawei set a record for smartphone sales last quarter.
Apple's China sales declined 21% between the first and second quarters of 2015, though sales in China more than doubled over a year ago.
Apple paved the way for its success in China by ramping up marketing there and signing a deal withChina Mobile(CHL) in January 2014. With more than 817 million customers, China Mobile is by far the largest wireless carrier in the world.
