Apple CEO Tim Cook was in China over the last several days, touring Apple stores in cities like Beijing, local media reported. Cook was first found in an Apple store in Beijing on Friday after an employee snapped a picture of him having a conversation with two people in sky
Apple began sales for the iPad in China in 2010. (Image credit: Getty Images AsiaPac via @daylife)
blue Apple store T-shirts. The image was posted on Weibo, China's biggest social network, shortly afterwards.
China is fast becoming one of the biggest growth markets for Apple (AAPL) products. The company sold 4.7 million iPads in China in 2011 and has a 70% stake in the tablet market. China accounted for around 10% of the Apple's sales revenue last year, a growth rate that was much faster than other countries.
Cook's visit is a stark difference from Apple's former front man, Steve Jobs. Jobs never visited Chinese Apple stores. Moreover, China is a relative newcomer to the Apple phenomenon, surging in the last few years of Jobs' life. Cook will clearly make China a priority for the company's Asia sales and marketing efforts.
Apple's top execs will need to stay on top of fierce competition if it wants to keep their strong market share. Rival Samsung continues to innovate. As tech changes fast, one new innovation is often all it takes to sideline a previous hot product.
News portal Sina.com.ch reported recently that Apple was considering embedding China search engine Baidu (BIDU) in its operating system next month. Google's search engine has been the only embedded search engine since the company launched its iOS mobile operating system, used in its iPhone, iPads and laptops.
See: Apple CEO's Surprise China Visit--China Daily
