Canalys: Apple may really need that plastic iPhone in China

According to shipment info gathered by the analysts over at Canalys, Apple's smartphone share in China is at 4.8% with a total of 4.3 million device shipments. As a result, Apple has fallen from the fifth down to the seventh overall spot in the manufacturer's ranking for Q3 2013.

Xiaomi managed to edge out Apple by shipping 4.4 million units. The company has just unveiled its quad-core Red Rice (or Hongmi), which at €99 costs only a fraction of the iPhone price, and will allow it to gain even more ground in the next quarters.

Samsung posted a solid 15.5 million shipments, which allowed it to take first spot with 17.6% market share. Lenovo took the second spot with 10.8 million shipped units and 12.3% market share - barely outpacing another local maker, Yulong.

If rumors are to be trusted, Apple may really need a cheaper iPhone 5C to tackle emerging markets, even if it means lowering its profit margin.

Source