Apple’s new iPhone launch drew scorn on Tuesday for its lack of artificial intelligence features in China. This is a challenge for the U.S. giant as it battles growing competition from Huawei Technologies in the world’s largest smartphone market.
Apple unveiled its long-awaited, AI-boosted iPhone 16 on Monday. It was hoping that its new features would drive consumers to upgrade amid a slowdown in its smartphone sales, which account for more than half of its total sales.
But Apple has yet to announce an AI partner in China to power the 16s. Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI software, will also be available in Chinese language only next year.
The iPhone 16 launch dominated discussions on Chinese social media on Tuesday. This was ahead of Huawei’s unveiling of a three-way foldable smartphone later in the day.
On Weibo, China’s X-like platform, three of the top 10 trending topics were related to the iPhone 16 launch. Its AI features were a key topic of discussion.
The hashtag “iPhone 16 Chinese version doesn’t support AI yet” attracted 11.33 million views and over 1,500 comments on Weibo.
“What’s the point of buying it if you can’t use AI?” wrote one Weibo user.
Another commented, “Without AI as the biggest selling point, it should be half price.”
Will iPhone Users Switch To Huawei?
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will cost the same as models they replace. In China, Apple aggressively slashed prices earlier this year. This came in as government restrictions on the use of foreign-branded phones and increased domestic competition weighed on its smartphone sales.
Other users on Weibo compared Apple’s launch with Huawei’s new phone. The Chinese phone brand seeks to widen its lead over Apple in its home market.
“Whether iPhone 16 has AI or not doesn’t affect me, because I’m going to buy Huawei’s tri-fold phone,” one Weibo user wrote.
But some analysts predict the absence of AI features in the iPhone 16 is unlikely to have a big impact on near term sales.
Who Will Win Over China?
“Chinese consumers are not yet driven to upgrade by AI capabilities. However, in the long run, as domestic brands use AI as a key differentiator for their flagship products, it will negatively affect Apple,” said Toby Zhu. Zhu is an analyst at technology market research firm Canalys.
Zhu said Apple needs to localise its offerings and swiftly establish an AI application and service ecosystem in China to remain competitive.
Apple’s powerful operating system remains a draw for Chinese consumers,as per Will Wong, an analyst at IDC.
“The key competitive advantage of Apple is its strong customer stickiness. Thus, the replacement needs of the users of the iPhone 11, 12, or 13 series could still support the sales of Apple in the absence of AI.”
“It’s still too early to say who will win,” Wong said.
Pre-orders for the new iPhone start on Friday in China through online retailers such as JD.com, with deliveries beginning on Sept. 20.
