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Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone sales sank deeper than the overall market in China in January, as smartphone sales disappointed ahead of the Chinese New Year. “January was supposed to be a seasonally strong month, but smartphone sell-through was down 20% (vs. December) and down year over year,” Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang said in a report Thursday. Apple and Samsung were hit harder than other smartphone vendors. Zhang estimates that Apple iPhone sales in China were down 35% in January vs. December. Last year, iPhone sales were up 15% month-over-month in January, he said. Meanwhile, Samsung’s smartphone sales were cut in half in January vs. December, Zhang said. Samsung’s high-end smartphone (Galaxy S6 and Note 5) sell-through was 1.1 million units in January, compared with 2.3 million in December. South Korea-based Samsung was hurt by Chinese vendor Huawei launching new models (Mate 8) and gaining market share in the high-end of the market. “Since people usually buy smartphones as a Chinese New Year gift, January is usually a solid month,” Zhang said. “We also believe the smartphone market has not bottomed yet and that the overall slowing macro affecting consumer spending is now becoming a real concern since we are seeing more layoffs in Chinese companies (different from the 2008-2009 situation).” China is an important market for Apple. It accounted for 24% of the company’s sales in the December quarter. Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that the company’s sales in Greater China started showing signs of weakness in January, most notably in Hong Kong. RELATED: Morgan Stanley Says Apple Stock Ripe For Picking . Apple Poised To Disappoint With March Product-Launch Event . Scalper1 News
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