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Marissa Solina
Apple faces added dilemma as 'phablets' bank big sales in Asia
With sales of larger "phablet" smartphones booming in Asia, Apple will likely respond next year, but it will face the same pricing predicament it's staring at now for the iPhone 5C, an analyst said today.
"I think Apple has already realized that they missed on the phablet category," said Sameer Singh, who covers mobile technologies at his Tech-Thoughts website. "[But] I expect a 5-inch-plus Apple phablet to launch some time in 2014. If not, Apple's decline in Asia will accelerate."
Singh's remarks were triggered by a report last week from IDC, which said phablet shipments -- smartphones with screen sizes between 5-in. and just under 7-in. -- overtook those of notebook PCs and tablets combined in Asia during the quarter ending June 30.
According to IDC, vendors shipped 25.2 million phablets in the period, compared with 12.6 million tablets and 12.7 million portable PCs.
"Phablets first started as a trend driven by mature markets like South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore," said Melissa Chau of IDC last week. "What's changed now is the added pick up of phablets in emerging markets like China and India, not just the plethora of big-name vendors competing head-to-head with Samsung, but instead the low-cost local players who have swooped in to offer big screens for less money -- averaging a retail price of $220 versus Samsung's $557."
Samsung's Galaxy Note series, including thenewest Note 3 launched Wednesday, which features a 5.7-in. display, are the best known phablets to U.S. consumers, who so far have not gravitated to the larger smartphones that offer more screen real estate for browsing and gameplay.
Asia -- China especially -- has been a wellspring for Apple revenue and profit until recently. In the second quarter, Apple's revenue in what it calls the Greater China region -- the People's Republic, Taiwan and Hong Kong -- fell 14% year-over-year to $4.6 billion, a disturbing trend to analysts.
But Apple's share of the smartphone market in China itself is shrinking, said researcher Canalys last month. For the April-June quarter, Apple was ranked seventh among China's smartphone vendors, with a market share of just 5%, down from the previous quarter's 8%.
Singh is among the analysts who wondered whether Apple could make a serious play in the booming Asian phablet category.
"Their challenges are basically the same as those they face now," Singh said. "The problem is price. Apple will likely pitch their phablet as a flagship with an unsubsidized starting price of $650, [while] competing vendors offer them at prices as low as $200. Anything less would lead to a revenue loss [by Apple] in subsidized markets."
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