Samsung ruined their reputation with their irresponsible reaction in China during the Note 7 scandal. It’s just that Chinese makers are gaining more market share.
Samsung smartphone market share peaked in 2013 and dropped to really nothing, well before the Note 7 scandal. It really has nothing whatsoever to do with the Note 7.
Could be, but how does that relate to Apple? Has Apple’s reputation changed in China as an American company in the last year?
My chats with colleagues suggest that: with the increase price of the new iphones and there're many more cost performance phones made by local companies(Huawei,Xiaomi...)they have no motivation to replace the old ones,even if they have,they will first consider a local brand.
I don't know how much anything Samsung does relates to Apple's reputation, but here is a good blog post on Apple's place in China right now: