Apple is facing a lot of competition both in the tablet and the smartphone markets. Indeed, even though Apple is the trailblazer of both devices, it is struggling to compete with its competitors especially in the emerging market. Apple has always had a luxury brand strategy, trying to set itself apart of the competition, and owning unique products. But the fact is that its competitors now manufacture devices as good as Apple's ones, at a lower price.
Emerging market people still have lower salaries and purchasing powers than western countries, which fact does not benefit to companies with high pricing. And this is what Apple is experiencing right now. I recently learned that Apple is only ranking n°5 in the Chinese market, and has recently been overtaken by Chinese competitor Xiomi.
Apple has reshaped its strategy lately, by launching an entry level phone, the Iphone 5c, especially in order to be competitive in terms of pricing in those countries (China, India and Brazil), how would that work? It would be interested to see how this model perform, because the world growth of the electronic devices is based in those emerging markets. Apple can not delay its efforts in these countries, because once the competition will be mature, it will be tough to gain marketshares.
