Apple Takes Top Spot in China as the Smartphone Market Shrinks for the First Time Since 2009

While China is often thought of as an emerging market when it comes to tech, a new report about smartphone purchase patterns suggests that this might not be the case anymore. The IDC report tracks 98.8 million smartphones shipped during the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of 4% year-over-year and 8% compared to Q4 2014. This represents the first decrease in nine years, indicating a slowing of the market. These findings suggest that manufacturers might find it harder to move devices now that they’ll have to convince existing owners to upgrade their devices, as opposed just attract first-time buyers. One thing is for sure though — China loves its iPhones, with Apple grabbing 14.7 percent of the total shipments in China, making them the number one choice among users.