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Apple’s AAPL-0.55% main competition in China has over 3 million preorders for its smartphone as the iPhone maker prepares to unveil its latest model.
Huawei’s tri-fold Mate XT smartphone has received over 3.18 million preorders since September 7, according to its website. The Mate XT will be unveiled at an event on Tuesday, Richard Yu, Huawei executive director, said on Weibo.
Meanwhile, Apple is expected to introduce its new iPhone 16 on Monday, equipped with its new generative artificial intelligence initiative, Apple Intelligence, that includes an AI-powered update to Siri and other native iPhone apps.
Since releasing its Mate 60 Pro smartphone series last August, Huawei has outpaced Apple in the Chinese market. In April, the company reported a rise in profit for the fourth consecutive quarter, also showing resilience against U.S. sanctions.
Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone sales fell 19% over the same period — its worst performance in China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Apple’s share of China’s smartphone market also fell year-over-year in the first quarter of 2024 from 19.7% to 15.7%. The company has had to cut prices on some iPhone models in the Chinese market as competition grows with Huawei and other homegrown smartphone-makers.
China’s smartphone shipments increased 8.9% year-over-year in the second quarter of this year, led by double-digit growth from local companies including Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi, according to the International Data Corporation. The growth edged Apple out of the top five into sixth place — and, despite the price cuts, the iPhone-maker saw a decline of 3.1% year-over-year, the data shows.