2015年CRI iPhone 6S Meets Challenge from Other iPhones, Domestic Smart Phones in China

Just two days after Apple released its latest iPhone upgrade, the iPhone 6S, reporters in Shanghai did a straw poll survey of locals around the city to gauge 1 the reaction.

While certainly not scientific, the lack of enthusiasm is quite evident.

"Apple's strategy is to have very few updates in its new models from the previous ones. So for me as a long-time Apple user, I don't think I need to buy the new one because there's not much difference."

"I think there are fewer and fewer innovations in the iPhone. At least nothing which surprises me. On the other hand, a lot of domestic phones are becoming quite good, and sell at reasonable prices. Why should I give all my money to the foreigners?"

Mobile industry analysts 2 note it's been Apple's strategy to roll out a dramatically upgraded new mobile product every two years, and to promote a minor 3 upgrade to their latest device in the interim 4.

But some are suggesting the ability to upgrade the technology may have hit a bottle-neck.

Wang Yang is the director of IHS Technology.

"Electronic products, including mobile phones, have reached a phase where it takes longer to innovate 5; most of the upgrades are only small ones. It's just like the PC industry. Once the product becomes more mature, there will be less and less room for hardware innovation."

Other Apple products, however, do remain quite popular in the Shanghai market.

Many mobile retailers 6 in Shanghai cut their prices for the iPhone6 and the 5S by as much as 20-percent as soon as iPhone6S was released.

Sales for these products immediately increased.

Zhu Xiang, director of Yolo Home Appliances in Shanghai, the strategy has worked fairly well.

"This morning we sold around 20 to 30 units, and we estimate it will reach 70 to 80 by the evening. That's triple our usual sales."

Apple launches its new products every September.

This makes the third quarter a hot season for other tech brands to try to beat them to the punch.

Almost a dozen domestic phone makers 7, including Coolpad, Huawei and Smartisan have launched or are planning launches for their new phones.

Wang Yang from IHS says most of these phones are popular among those who want to have a second or third mobile phone.

"iPhones only have a single SIM card slot, but many people, especially in business, tend to have several SIM cards for different uses. So what we've seen is more and more people are buying an iPhone, and then also buying a quality smartphone that sells for around a thousand yuan. This is an area where domestic phone makers can make headway."

While the iPhone6S may not surpass its previous generations' popularity in China, the country is still one of Apple's biggest markets.

Industry observers are suggesting China could wind up with around 30-percent of all iPhone6S orders around the world in the first 24 hours after the launch of the new iPhone.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin 8.