Domestic Rivals Take Bite off Apple's Share in China

(Beijing) – Apple Inc. is shifting gears and promoting new apps and services to rev up growth in China amid a slump in sales for its expensive devices as local brands nibble at its market share.

For many Chinese consumers, owning an Apple device was synonymous with being wealthy and fashionable, and in recent years many lined up overnight to grab new models as soon as they were released. This voracious appetite for Apple products made the Greater China region, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, the second largest market for the tech company, after North America. Over 27 percent of its revenue in the last quarter of 2015 came from China, company data showed.