As Apple's third largest market by sales, China is an attractive growth opportunity (AAPL)

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December 5, 2017 8:23 PM

The number of developers in China creating apps and services for Apple’s iOS ecosystem has hit 1.8 million

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The number of developers in China creating apps and services for Apple’s iOS ecosystem has hit 1.8 million,accordingto statements made by Apple CEO Tim Cook at a cyber policy forumorganized by the Cybersecurity Administration of China.

Cook said that iOS developers in China have generated $17 billion in earnings, accounting for about a quarter of Apple’s total global App Store earnings, which is roughly $70 billion.

China is Apple’s third-largest market by sales, and represents an attractive growth opportunity for both active iOS devices and revenue. The strong earnings number indicates that in some way the company is gaining more traction in the region, despite the highly competitive smartphone ecosystem in China:

Apple faces strong competition from domestic smartphone manufacturers, whose devices tend to run forked versions of Android.
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Apple is showing signs of a comeback in China following six consecutive quarters of annual declines in iPhone shipments.
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Apple’s made a number of compromises to accommodate China’s strict regulatory body, and will likely make more to win over additional developers and consumers. Last month, Apple removed its “tipping tax” in China just two months after it introduced the controversial App Store policy.

The unpopular tax applied Apple’s standard 30% revenue cut for in-app purchases to voluntary tipping from users — a practice that’s popular in China. And two months ago, Apple announced the removal of several virtual private network (VPN) services from its App Store in China, after the Chinese government had been pressuring the firm to ban all VPNs — which allow users to bypass China’s heavily regulated internet — that aren’t approved by state regulators. Continued cooperation with the Chinese government could help Apple gain more traction in China.

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