The wheel of dumb has turned yet again and now it’s time for Apple to shake in its well-chamfered boots at the next in a continuing series of Apple killers.
Writing for The Motley Fool, Harsh Chauhan explains “Why Apple Should Be Scared of This Company.” (Tip o’ the antlers to Philip Speicher.)
Is it because it’s a ghost? The Macalope hopes it’s because it’s a ghost. At least that would be a change of pace.
This Chinese company is closing in on Apple’s market share.
Dude.
Apple and Samsung’s reign at the top of the smartphone market is under threat.
A threat like never before! Or, at least since 2014.
Yes, remember Xiaomi? They were 2014’s dire threat to Apple. In 2015, even, Ewan Spence gushed “Here’s The Smartphone That Will Give Xiaomi The Market Share To Rule The World.”
But now, listen to the dulcet tones of the hit single: “Hate To Tell You, Bro, But That Didn’t Happen.”
“Hugo Barra Leaves Xiaomi Amid Market-Share Struggles.”
But other companies only exist inasmuch as they can be portrayed as Apple killers. One of the keys to Xiaomi’s success was supposedly its online sales strategy.
The direct online sales strategy of the company has helped it make a big breakout in 2013.
The key to Huawei’s success, according to Chauhan, will be its offline sales strategy.
Huawei has a smart formula to win over customers in big smartphone markets—offline sales.
Suffice it to say, whatever the strategy is that’s employed by the company competing against Apple, it will be a huge success. Even if it’s just taping the phones to the backs of alley cats and setting them free.
[very serious voice] “We believe the ‘taping phones to the backs of alley cats and setting them free’ strategy will be a huge win for Meow-Meow Smartphone Corp. Apple is far behind in the ‘taping phones to the backs of alley cats and setting them free’ game.”
But whose lunch has Huawei been stealing out of the refrigerator and eating even though it says “I love you and am so proud of you. —xoxo, Xiaomi’s mom” on it? Well, Huawei’s rise seems pretty perfectly timed to Xiaomi’s fall, and Apple’s market share has shifted around in the teens for years but there’s no overt trend downward, at least so far.
Apple has always faced competition, sometimes stiff, sometimes not so. Its success rarely has much to do with the moves of others and more often its own ability to keep churning out exceptional devices.