On Wednesday, Apple released the iPhone 15, which received various responses in China, its third biggest market. While many internet users liked the iPhone 15 because of its speedier CPU and greater gaming skills, others preferred the new smartphone that Huawei released.
The electronics giant from the United States, which presented its newest iPhone range on Tuesday, significantly emphasizes China. U.S. export prohibitions decimated the smartphone industry of Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL), and as a result, the firm now has a dominating position in China’s premium smartphone market. However, the company has also come under investigation in the lead-up to the introduction of the iPhone 15, which may be one reason why.
Shares of Apple (AAPL.O) and its suppliers took a beating last week after news that Chinese government agencies and state-owned companies had banned their employees from using the iPhone. Additionally, Huawei unveiled a new smartphone with an advanced processor, which was perceived as an attempt by the Chinese company to make a return.
As has been the case in the past with the introduction of new iPhone models, the debut of Apple’s iPhone 15 on Wednesday sparked a lively conversation online. On September 15, the new phone will be available on the Tmall marketplace operated by Alibaba (9988. HK) in China. It will be available in shops on September 22.
On the social media site Weibo, postings on the new launch received 380 million views, and the iPhone 15 was the subject of more than 800,000 debates, including posts, comments, and likes.
Apple’s claim that console-quality games like “Resident Evil 4 Remake” can be played on the smartphone was widely accepted in China. This was seen as an attempt by Apple to appeal to China’s army of mobile gamers. Many applauded the new 3-nanometer processor included in the iPhone 15 Pro.
However, many on social media had second thoughts about purchasing an American brand rather than one that factored in the user’s own country. This was particularly the case after Chinese state media hailed the launch of Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro earlier this month as a victory for China against the sanctions imposed by the United States.
In a poll conducted on Weibo by the Chinese news website Sina, respondents were asked which of two smartphones—the iPhone 15 or the Mate 60—they were most likely to purchase. The Mate 60 received 61,000 votes, while the iPhone 15 received 24,000.
Significant debate was also sparked by a comparison exploring how the Mate 60 Pro could make phone calls and send texts through satellite, while the iPhone 15 could only send texts via satellite.
“The iPhone 15 can only send SOS messages via satellite, using last-generation technology already deployed in Huawei’s Mate 60, which supports full satellite calling,” one user noted. “The technology is already deployed in the Huawei Mate 60.”
The market for smartphones in China, much like the market for smartphones throughout the world, is in the middle of a collapse, and experts have warned that this, in addition to the deteriorating economy in China, might potentially impact sales of the iPhone 15.
According to industry observers, Apple’s third-party retailers offered exceptional discounts on the iPhone 14 Pro in the amount of up to 10 percent in February. These reductions aided sales but might hurt demand for the most recent series.
Archie Zhang, a research analyst at Counterpoint, said, “This is not a good signal for the upcoming 15 series as some demands have been fulfilled before the launch.” Before Huawei’s unexpected debut, we anticipated that Apple’s sales in China’s third and fourth quarters would be comparable to or slightly lower than the same periods in the previous year.
Apple faces competition from both the public sector and Huawei, according to Will Wong, an analyst with the industry research company IDC. Huawei is also a potential threat.
“Sales (of the iPhone 15) are not going to be easy,” he said, “especially considering that Chinese customers are either being cautious in their spending or have shifted their focus to leisure or travel.”
IDC anticipates that Apple’s share of the premium phone market in China will steadily decrease due to growing competition from Huawei.
Apple owned 67% of the market share for phones with prices above $600 during the first half of 2023, followed by Huawei with 15.6% of the market share.
