The new launch of Apple’s iPhone attracted contempt on Tuesday for its lack of artificial intelligence features in China, a challenge for the American giant when it fights against the growing competition of Huawei Technologies on the world’s largest smartphone market.
Apple unveiled its long -awaited iPhone 16 on Monday and finished AI, hoping that new features would encourage consumers to upgrade in the middle of a slowdown in smartphones sales, which represent more than half of its total sales.
But Apple has not yet announced an AI partner in China to feed the 16s, and Apple Intelligence, the company’s IA software, will be available in Chinese language only next year.
The launch of the iPhone 16 dominated discussions on Chinese social media on Tuesday, before Huawei’s unveiling of a foldable smartphone to three later.
On Weibo, the X-type X platform in China, three of the 10 main trend topics were linked to the launch of the iPhone 16, with AI features from a key discussion subject.
The Chinese version of the hashtag “iPhone 16 does not support AI” has “attracted 11.33 million views and more than 1,500 comments on Weibo.
“What is the point of buying it if you can’t use AI?” wrote a Weibo user.
Another commented: “Without AI as the largest sale argument, it should be half price.”
The iPhone 16 and 16 will cost the same as the models they will replace. In China, Apple has aggressively reduced prices earlier this year, while government restrictions on the use of brand phones abroad and the increase in domestic competition weighed on its sales of smartphones.
Other Weibo users have compared the launch of Apple with the new phone of Huawei, which should be published while the Chinese company seeks to expand its advance on Apple on its domestic market.
“The fact that the iPhone 16 has an AI or not affects me, because I will buy the Huawei tripolar phone,” wrote a Weibo user, highlighting the growing popularity of the latest Huawei models in China who helped him replace Apple as a n ° 3 smartphone seller in the second trimester.
But some analysts have predicted that the absence of AI features in the iPhone 16 would have little to have a significant impact on short -term sales.
“Chinese consumers have not yet been pushed to upgrade by AI’s capacities … However, in the long term, because national brands use AI as a key differentiator for their flagship products, this will negatively affect Apple,” said Toby Zhu, analyst of the Coanalys technological market research company.
Zhu said Apple must locate his offers and quickly establish an AI AI application and service ecosystem in China to remain competitive.
The powerful Apple operating system remains a draw for Chinese consumers, according to Will Wong, analyst at IDC.
“The main competitive advantage of Apple is its high collaboration of the customer. Thus, the replacement needs of users of the iPhone 11, 12 or 13 series could always support Apple sales in the absence of AI.”
“It is still too early to say who will win,” said Wong.
Pre -orders from the new iPhone start on Friday in China through online retailers such as JD.com, with deliveries from September 20.
(Reuters)