The iPhone makeover trend is gaining popularity in China lately as some iPhone owners opted to stick with their current old model iPhones instead of buying the latest iPhone 7 or 7 Plus devices.
Several Chinese customers owning an older version of the iPhone chose not to buy the latest iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models and instead gave their older phones a makeover to look brand new. If this trend continues, Apple could highly likely experience a dropdown in sales despite its efforts of boosting profits.
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple's newest premium phones launched last month and came with a hefty price tag. Because of this, consumers hesitate on purchasing the newest iPhones due to the lack of significant improvements. Hence, several online sites are offering owners makeover kits consisting of dust plugs to hide the headphone jack socket or false cameras to create a dual camera illusion in order to make the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, and 6S Plus resemble the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in appearance.
In fact, Alibaba's Taobao displayed a variety of products that could entice users to buy and transform their older iPhone to the newer model. This ranges from engraving services, stickers, to even replacing the device's outer shell and add the same hardware found in this year's flagship handsets.
What This Could Mean For Apple
Despite not releasing an official statement in lieu of this trend, it is very possible that Apple's sales will be greatly affected since the Chinese market is one of the biggest in the world.
Furthermore, Apple has struggled to meet the demands of Chinese buyers for the larger screened iPhone 7 Plus, especially the coveted Jet Black color, due to supply issues. This led to an 8.4 percent market share slip for Apple in China, lagging behind local smartphone manufacturers, such as Huawei and Vivo.
And it looks like the decline in iPhone 7 and 7 Plus sales is not the only thing that is hurting Apple in the third quarter of this year. Several reports claimed that the smartwatch industry has seen a 51.6 percent decline from last year's third quarter. Apple, although the current smartwatch market leader, actually experienced a 71.6 percent drop in its sales since it only shipped 1.1 million Apple Watches as compared to last year's 3.9 million units sold in the same quarter.
Meanwhile, some analysts claimed that Apple is still struggling to convert loyal Samsung owners to switch to the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus following the explosion of several Galaxy Note 7 phones worldwide and its inevitable cancelation.
