Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported that, according to research that the Bank of America Merrill Lynch just conducted, potential Chinese mobile phone buyers surveyed preferred Apple iPhone over Huawei. It was widely discussed and anticipated in the media both domestically in China and internationally that the U.S. sanctions on Huawei would trigger Chinese mobile phone buyers’ patriotic sentiments and they would thus switch to Huawei while waving goodbye to the iPhone. The newly released study report, however, showed just the opposite. Around 29 percent of Chinese shoppers surveyed in May picked the iPhone which represents a 3 percent increase from April. The same report showed the intent to buy Huawei dropped from 28 percent in April to 25 percent in May. Both JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs indicated earlier that iPhone Chinese sales would see a free fall of around 30 percent. However, the latest research does not really validate that expectation.
Source: China Times, May 31, 2019
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20190531002394-260410?chdtv