Has China lost its taste for the iPhone?

Apple has deep ties in the country, its second-largest market. But there are signs that Chinese consumers are becoming a harder sell. — The New York Times

TAIPEI, Taiwan: For years, Apple dominated the market for high-end smartphones in China. No other company made a device that could compete with the iPhone’s performance – or its position as a status object in the eyes of wealthy, cosmopolitan shoppers.

But evidence is mounting that, for many in China, the iPhone no longer holds the appeal it used to. During the first six weeks of the year, historically a peak season for Chinese shoppers to spring for a new phone, iPhone sales fell 24% from a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research, which analyses the smartphone market.