[dennisw]

Hold on to your Apple watch it might be come a collectors item. A memento for Apples wild and crazy ride where is was the darling of the US stock markets and the darling of gadget crazy Asians who unfortunately have run out of ready cash to spend of high priced Apple gadgets and doo-dads
This is the Chinese company that Apple fears the most>>>>

Xiaomi retakes the smartphone lead in China as Apple slips
Engadget1 day ago
Aug 03, 2015 ·
It looks like Apple's time at the top of China's smartphone heap was short-lived. Researchers at Canalys estimate that local brand Xiaomi has once again become the country's smartphone market share leader, snagging 15.9 percent of shipments during the second quarter of the year. In fact, Apple is down to third place -- one of Xiaomi's fastest-growing rivals, Huawei, claimed the runner-up spot with 15.7 percent. Samsung and Vivo rounded out the top five.

It's not certain what tipped the balance for Xiaomi, although big phones like the Mi Note (shown above) likely helped. That leadership might not survive for much longer, however. As IDC warned earlier, the days of a rapidly expanding Chinese phone market appear to be over. Vendors are mostly trying to poach customers from each other, rather than enticing first-timers who are finally well-off enough to buy a smartphone. In a volatile climate like that, it might only take one hit phone (or a spectacular flop) to shake things up.

[LS]

I didn’t see the iWatch as becoming a “thing.” Too many redundancies yet you still need to have a phone and an iPad. I see this as their first really big mistake. But Apple will be back. At some point, Apple is going to be a huge buying opportunity.

[Swordmaker]

It's not certain what tipped the balance for Xiaomi, although big phones like the Mi Note (shown above) likely helped. That leadership might not survive for much longer, however. As IDC warned earlier, the days of a rapidly expanding Chinese phone market appear to be over. Vendors are mostly trying to poach customers from each other, rather than enticing first-timers who are finally well-off enough to buy a smartphone. In a volatile climate like that, it might only take one hit phone (or a spectacular flop) to shake things up.

It's simple, dennisw. Firstly, Chinese phone consumers are neither stupid nor fools. Buying last year's iPhone 6 or 6plus in July or August would make them both stupid and foolish because they know that Apple is going to release they new iPhone 6s and 6s plus in September. If they buy now, they will pay the same price for last year's model that merely by waiting a short time they can have the NEWEST model!

If they want an iPhone 6 or 6plus, in September, last year's older models will be available at discounts or on the used market for considerably less. As I said, anyone would be stupid or fools to buy now, and the Chinese consumers are neither. . . so the Chinese market is DOWN. So is the American phone market for iPhones as people here await the new release.

Secondly, Both Xiaomi (Show me) and Huewei release their new models on August 1st. . . to beat Apple to the punch. Xiaomi in particular because they release phones that are close look-alikes of the upcoming Apple iPhone models to attract the buyers who want a look-alike iPhone but can only afford a phone that costs 1/3rd the price of an iPhone. Those companies will sell a lot now and grab short term market share from Apple. That is what these reports are all about.

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

Use Xiaomi and Huawei at your own risk.

You are basically paying the Chinese government to infect your network.