Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Targets Asia as the Global Smartphone Market Declines

Considering an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max? According to CNBC, Counterpoint Research has stated that it expects “smartphone shipments in 2023 to decline 6% year-on-year to 1.15 billion devices,” which would be the worst performance in a decade. On the bright side, the researcher claims that Apple is on track to be on top of its competitors this year “as its high-end iPhone sales remain resilient.”

A big part of this decline is due to China’s economic situation, which has forced many Chinese consumers to be cautious about their spending. As a result, “smartphone purchases, which used to average 450 million devices a year at their peak, have shrunk to 270 million per year” in China.

Regardless of the dire situation, the U.S. tech company is about to launch its newest flagship, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, this September in hopes of closing out the year with a strong sales performance. Counterpoint states that if all goes well for the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Silicon Valley company “could this year take the top spot globally in terms of annual shipments for the first time ever,” after trailing behind Samsung.

Retail News Asia reports how the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max might be sold in Vietnam next month, ahead of its normal schedule. Through the news outlet’s local connections, an electronics retail chain in Vietnam clued them in to the possibility that “Apple is considering adjusting the priority level of the Vietnamese market from three to two.”

This would mean that Vietnam’s authorization to sell new iPhones would be granted during the second phase of its release. This is significant since “Vietnam does not have an Apple Store like neighboring countries Singapore and Thailand. However, in recent years, the growth of the iPhone’s presence in Vietnam has been significantly faster than in some international markets.”

Additionally, according to VN Express International, Apple has not fared well in Vietnam, with data revealing how “low demand has driven iPhone 14 prices in Vietnam to the second lowest levels in the world after only the U.S.” Lately, iPhones have sold better in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

Apple’s biggest achievement in 2023 might be how it “opened its first physical stores in India this year, with CEO Tim Cook visiting the country.” CNBC also reported how “India became Apple’s fifth largest iPhone market in the second quarter for the first time, overtaking France and Germany,” and “contributed close to 4% of all iPhone sales in the second quarter, growing 50% year-on-year.”

This all comes as “Apple ramps up its presence in the world’s fifth-largest economy from both a retail and manufacturing perspective” with the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max.