New Apple, Huawei phones create buzz

A Huawei Mate XT tri-fold smartphone on display at a flagship store in Shanghai on Tuesday. (WANG GANG/FOR CHINA DAILY)

Apple Inc launched the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max on Monday, featuring the A18 Pro chip built for Apple Intelligence, larger display sizes, innovative pro camera features and a huge leap in battery life.

Pre-ordering of the new iPhones will begin on Friday, with availability as of Sept 20, according to an Apple news release.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd launched a tri-fold phone, the Huawei Mate XT, on Tuesday. Within the first 24 hours of pre-ordering, which started on Saturday, the Mate XT rang up more than 2 million orders, according to a Huawei news release.

Orders for the Mate XT exceeded 3.4 million units as of Tuesday, said the Shenzhen-based company, with its prices starting at 19,999 yuan ($2,809.2).

Apple said the new iPhones feature a 48MP Fusion camera that enables 4K 120 fps (frames per second) video recording in Dolby Vision.

Price-wise, the iPhone 16 Pro will start at $999, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max at $1,199, with storage capacities of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, according to Apple.

The screen display of the new Pro lineup will be the largest ever on an iPhone. The phone will have the thinnest borders, with display sizes of 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, respectively.

The A18 Pro chip will enhance iPhone's AI functions for text, audio and images, featuring improved Siri, Writing Tools and easy access to ChatGPT.

The new iPhone will have "the best battery life on iPhone ever", with up to 33 hours of video playback for Pro Max and up to 27 hours of video playback for Pro, according to the Cupertino, California-based phone-maker.

The Huawei Mate XT allows users to turn the phone into a 10.2-inch tablet with a resolution of up to 2232 X 3184 pixels in its three-screen state. The smartphone will come with 16GB of RAM and three storage options: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, priced at 19,999 yuan, 21,999 yuan and 23,999 yuan, respectively.

Previously, images of Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei's consumer business group, had circulated online showing him using what appears to be the Mate XT. He also said recently in a Weibo post that Huawei's "most leading, innovative and disruptive product" is coming.

Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said in a news release that "the iPhone will continue to see erosion in the premium segment by Huawei and other Chinese brands".

The iPhone's share in the smartphone market on the Chinese mainland already has dropped from the top-five rankings, according to latest research by Canalys, a provider of global technology market data.

Second-quarter data showed that Apple ranked sixth on the Chinese mainland with a market share of 14 percent, down 2 percentage points year-on-year. Huawei ranked fourth with 15 percent market share.

"From a long-term perspective, the Chinese high-end market is ripe with opportunity. Local brands such as Huawei, Honor, Oppo and Vivo are leading the way by incorporating technologies such as GenAI into products and services," wrote analyst Lucas Zhong of Canalys. "Additionally, the localization of Apple's Intelligence services on the Chinese mainland will be crucial in the next 12 months."