With its two mainland carrier partners pushing many low-cost models, Apple finds the iPhone lagging behind arch-rival Samsung Electronics and a clutch of Chinese brands led by Lenovo in the country's fast-growing smartphone market.
Apple was ranked seventh among the top-selling smartphone brands on the mainland in the first six months of this year as cost-conscious consumers flocked to buy lower-priced models rather than the iPhone, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.
China Unicom and China Telecom, the two mobile-operator partners of Apple, tapped low-priced smartphone suppliers to bolster their respective handset portfolios.
Unicom president Lu Yimin said on Thursday the carrier was focused on marketing the iPhone but described many new 3G subscribers as "low-end users" who wanted cheap smartphones.
Sino Market Research found 67.9 per cent of first-half smartphone sales to subscribers on Unicom's 3G network were on models that cost 2,000 yuan (HK$2,440) or less. Apple's iPhone is in the premium handset segment priced at 4,000 yuan or more, which made up 19.2 per cent of first-half smartphone sales of the country's second-biggest wireless network operator.
China Telecom, which introduced the iPhone on its 3G network in March, credited the Apple product for attracting high-end users. But the mainland's smallest mobile network operator said it offered 240 different smartphone models to effectively reach more consumers.