Image source: provided by the company

By choosing to hold their new product launches on the same day, the tension between Huawei and Apple is growing increasingly intense.

At 1:00 AM Beijing time on September 10, Apple held its "Glowtime" event, while at 2:30 PM that afternoon, Huawei officially held its Extraordinary Brand Ceremony and HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving New Product Launch Event. The former featured "Apple Intelligence", while the latter showcased its first three-fold screen phone, the Huawei Mate XT Extraordinary Master. Pre-orders for the Mate XT began on September 7 at 12:08, and currently, the number of reservations on Huawei's official store exceeds 3 million.

Leading the smartphone industry through technological innovation was once a commonality between the two companies, but judging from their development trajectories, Apple seems to be increasingly deviating from the path of innovation. Since the iPhone X series, Apple has struggled to deliver groundbreaking products, and even "Apple Intelligence" is more of a promise than an immediate reality. The first batch of AI features will be rolled out with next month's beta version and will only be available in the US version, with Chinese users having to wait until next year to experience these features.

Compared to software updates, hardware innovations are more intuitive and memorable. Three-fold screen phones, despite their high price and limited usage scenarios, have allowed Huawei to become the global leader in mass-producing such devices. While the Mate XT and iPhone 16 series target different audiences, Huawei may be using its technological innovation prowess to compete with Apple.

"AI iPhone" vs. Three-Fold Screen

AI and foldable screens are among the few remaining hopes for smartphone manufacturers facing a sluggish market. At Apple's "Glowtime" event, "Apple Intelligence" embodied the "Glow" theme, and Apple spent considerable time introducing AI-related features in the iPhone 16 series updates.

To better accommodate "Apple Intelligence", the iPhone 16 series is equipped with the latest A18 Bionic chip, which uses second-generation 3nm technology. This is a direct two-generation upgrade from the A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 15, featuring a six-core CPU and a 16-core neural engine. Additionally, Apple claims that the A18 has a new memory subsystem that enables faster data transfer speeds. These features are designed to optimize on-device AI performance, with Apple claiming that the iPhone 16 offers twice the computational power of its predecessor.

In terms of specific features, Apple detailed new experiences across four dimensions: communication, memory recall, task prioritization, and personal scenarios. For example, writing tools are deeply integrated into iOS, allowing handwritten notes and the tone of conversations with bosses to be polished by AI. When recalling past photos, users can find specific images through question-and-answer sessions and create videos of their memories. Long emails can be summarized for easier reading, and Siri can understand user questions, provide relevant answers, and execute hundreds of in-app operations.

However, the first batch of AI features will be introduced with next month's beta version and will only be available in the US version. They will gradually expand to countries like Australia in December, while users in China, Japan, and other regions will have to wait until next year to experience these features.

Another notable change in Apple's iPhone 16 series is the addition of a "Camera Control Button" on the side of the device. Pressing the button brings up the camera app, tapping it serves as a shutter during photography, holding it down starts video recording, and swiping left or right adjusts the zoom. Compared to the previous iPhone 15 series, the iPhone 16 lineup has not increased in price, ranging from $5999 to $13,999. The base models include the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, available in black, white, pink, dark cyan, and group cyan. The Pro series offers the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, crafted from Grade 5 titanium alloy and available in black titanium, white titanium, raw titanium, and desert sand titanium.

At Huawei's Extraordinary Brand Ceremony and HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving New Product Launch Event, the long-rumored three-fold screen phone finally made its debut. "Today, we bring you an epoch-making product that others have imagined but failed to create. Through five years of perseverance and investment, we have turned science fiction into reality. The Mate XT is the world's first three-fold screen phone," said Yu Chengdong, Chairman of Huawei Device BG and Smart Car Solutions BU, confidently at the event.

The "X" in Mate XT continues the numbering convention for folding screen products, while the "T" stands for triple-fold, top technology, and trendsetter. According to Yu Chengdong, the launch of the Huawei Mate XT Extraordinary Master will rewrite industry history.

The Mate XT boasts three modes: single-screen, dual-screen, and triple-screen, with an unfolded screen size of approximately 10.2 inches and a body thickness of 3.6 mm. In terms of hinges, Huawei's innovative Tiangong hinge system, named A'jing, revolutionizes traditional structures by balancing thinness and toughness while enabling both internal and external folding. Yu Chengdong emphasized that breakthroughs in screens and hinges were crucial to the mass production of Huawei's folding products. The Mate XT comes in three versions priced between $19,999 and $23,999, available in Ruby Red and Dazzling Black, both supporting Tiantong satellite communication. Yu Chengdong also indicated that prices would gradually decrease as costs decline and yield rates improve.

Before Huawei launched the Mate XT, the "King of Africa," Transsion Holdings, had already unveiled the three-fold concept phone PHANTOM ULTIMATE2, with a folded screen size of 6.48 inches and an average unfolded thickness of 11 mm. However, media reports indicated that the product had not yet entered mass production. Samsung showcased a triple-fold phone form factor at CES 2022 but did not launch a related product.

In other words, Huawei has become the first company in the world to mass-produce a three-fold screen phone.

A Tightly Contested Battle

Choosing to hold their launches on the same day underscores the increasingly intense rivalry between Apple and Huawei.

Since the return of Huawei's Mate 60 series last year, Apple's position in China's high-end smartphone market has been challenged. According to data from market research firms IDC and Canalys, in the second quarter of 2024, Apple fell out of the top five positions in China's smartphone market, while Huawei's market share grew the fastest year-on-year.

While Apple played its AI card, Huawei countered with a three-fold screen form factor. It's not that AI isn't important; rather, Huawei already showcased its AI layout at the Huawei Developer Conference in June this year. HarmonyOS NEXT integrated AI capabilities into the system for the first time, upgrading Xiaoyi to Xiaoyi Intelligence, enabling more complex operations with the support of end-cloud collaboration and intention frameworks for better scene perception, intention recognition, and user understanding. When introducing the Mate XT at the event, Yu Chengdong emphasized features like AI Information Advisor, AI Translation Expert, and AI Senior Editor.

However, in the field of folding screens, Apple has yet to produce a mature product, while Huawei has taken the lead in folding screen technology. According to IDC data, in the second quarter of 2024, shipments of foldable phones in China increased by 104.6% to 2.57 million units, with Huawei leading the market with a 41.7% share.

While the target audiences for the iPhone 16 series and Huawei Mate XT series are not entirely overlapping, launching the industry's first mass-produced three-fold screen phone from a technological innovation perspective can enhance Huawei's brand influence. In contrast, after Apple's event, related topics like "#Apple's color schemes are ugly#" trended on Weibo, and its incremental innovation was criticized by the market. Since AI features won't be available in the Chinese market until next year, Chinese users will not immediately experience the event's biggest updates. Even StarTech and Meizu took advantage of this hot topic by posting posters on Weibo, stating, "AI at the $6000 price point will only be available next year; AI at the $2000 price point is ready to use now."

In fact, iPhone sales and reputation in the Chinese market have been declining in recent years. Long after the launch of the iPhone 15 series last year, distributors failed to feel the same rush of demand experienced in previous years. Starting with last year's "Singles' Day" shopping festival, e-commerce platforms led the way in price cuts, followed by Apple's official website. According to Apple's second-quarter 2024 financial results, iPhone revenue was $39.296 billion, a 0.9% decrease from the previous year. Revenue in Greater China was $14.728 billion, a 6.5% decrease from the previous year, making it the only region among Apple's top five sales regions to experience a year-over-year decline.

The rivalry between Huawei and Apple has never ceased, but Huawei's three-fold screen phone is not the best product to compete head-on with the iPhone. Guo Tianxiang, Research Manager at IDC China, believes that "while regular foldable phones have been around for at least five years, their penetration rate remains below 2%. More expensive and bulkier triple-fold phones will only appeal to niche audiences in the short term, serving more as a symbol of social status and brand identity rather than a necessity."

However, for Huawei, the label of technological innovation leadership may be even more crucial. The company's emphasis on this can be seen in the way it conducts its launch events, such as inviting Andy Lau as a spokesperson and launching the Extraordinary Brand Plan in October 2024. In contrast, Apple's latest event relied solely on pre-recorded videos and executive presentations, lacking the live experience. Who will emerge victorious in China's high-end smartphone market in the new year remains to be seen over time, as the battle between Apple and Huawei continues.