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Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that smartphones are growing in importance as they add new functions, and they will not be replaced by other products any time soon.
"For most people, the smartphone is either the primary or the sole window that they have to the Internet... and there is nothing that eclipses it any time soon or maybe any time in the distant future," he said in an interview with Xinhua in Beijing.
Cook is optimistic about the world smartphone market as penetration in many markets is very low, such as India, where the 4G network is just rolling out this year.
"It's not something you use once a month or once a week. You are gonna be using it all the time. It's a constant companion," he said.
The company plans to release a new iPhone model in September. Its sales in China in recent quarters have not been that favorable.
Figures show the quarterly revenue of Apple in greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, dropped by 33 percent year on year to 8.848 billion U.S. dollars from April to June.
According to statistics released last month by Counterpoint Research, Apple dropped to the fifth place in China's mobile market in the first quarter, after Huawei, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi, which secured 53 percent of combined market share.
Cook responded that the company saw a significant reduction of channel inventory, particularly in the quarter from March to June, meaning customers are buying more products than the shown revenue.
Another factor that has influenced the financial figures is the depreciation of the Chinese yuan, he said.
Cook said he is optimistic about the company's sales prospects in the fall, especially as the iOS 10 operating system will be launched.
(APD)
