Replies to post #28611 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[Biowatch]

As Smartphone Industry Sputters, the iPhone Expands Its Dominance
Apple, which is set to release a new iPhone on Tuesday, has increased its share of smartphone sales by converting Android customers and adding teenagers.

… On Tuesday, Apple will unveil the 17th iteration of its flagship product. Remarkably, at an age in which most consumer devices have lost some of their appeal to users, Apple has increased its share of smartphone sales over less expensive rivals.

Over the past five years, the iPhone has increased its percentage of total smartphones sold around the world while expanding its share of sales in four of the world’s largest regions: China, Japan, Europe and India.

In the United States, the iPhone’s largest market, the device now accounts for more than 50 percent of smartphones sold, up from 41 percent in 2018, according to Counterpoint Research, a technology firm. The gains have helped it claim about a fifth of the world’s smartphone sales, up from a low of 13 percent in 2019.

Apple has expanded its smartphone empire as the broader industry has faltered. Over the past two years, sales of Android smartphones have plummeted, but the iPhone has suffered only modest declines because it’s been winning new customers. It has done so despite being the industry’s priciest device.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/business/apple-iphone-17.html?unlocked_article_code=96H-_hM195yviVNXJ4J3Mlu_DaYJNUU3-IG8xRAxsXnZSgBgnjsoFfZGAg43LYWVOxd7J7D9vihS05vMAc0xBvNDNm5F6Xbm5D893MCr5UbIRw09guKOkoFMWVI05widiWBiBBTNoN4OS0XHh95hErfIVYqdFbj7Aqv-MER5Zt_CfTGgEouqEHot7xRT30OM-r4TUksgpXG7ScjcxwWc2DhpS0KBNVyoQkmSRBBNS1MujFWpbf_3HmSP85LIXsIVCA2CdjlrLgsuVU8Zk9kunq-8EV7_UmIz1vLwlyBmS2viMIbGO9YGFIZGToRsKnbDCHPW1KHaTpcF&smid=url-share

[DewDiligence]

The KFC Call comes to cosmetics:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/17/business/china-cosmetic-imports.html

…many Chinese consumers…are now splurging on lipstick, perfume, moisturizers and other personal care products.

…As China’s cosmetics companies are booming, imports of cosmetics are wilting under regulations that the country imposed on foreign manufacturers during the pandemic.

…Under rules that China introduced in 2021, companies must divulge every ingredient in their products and the precise quantities used. They must upload to a Chinese database the addresses of all ingredient suppliers as well as where the ingredients are assembled. Foreign companies fear that divulging those details could allow low-cost Chinese manufacturers to copy their products.