Apple is making serious headway with smartphone sales in China, according to a recent report from analysis firm Canalsys. Surpassing the budget smartphone makers available in the region, for the first time ever Apple is now the top selling smartphone company in the country.
Even beating out companies like Huawei and Xiaomi, who offer devices for a fraction of the price, Apple is expected by some to have sold more smartphones in China than it did in the US. However, many also believe that may not be the case.
The impressive numbers are pertaining to Apple's fiscal Q1 (the three months ending December 2014 or Q4 2014) and are due in large part to the larger screens found on Apple's latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Canalsys also says it was based on rising LTE trends in the region as well as a timely launch and "a clampdown on gray exports of its products out of Hong Kong."
Along with beating out its US smartphone sales, analysts also believe Apple's fiscal Q1 results will land anywhere from 61 million to 70 million iPhones, but we will have to wait until later this afternoon to know for sure.
Sitting just behind Apple for smartphone sales in the region were, in order, Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei, according to Canalsys.
Apple is scheduled to release its final Q1 2015 earnings later this afternoon around 4pm.