es to Apple. This heightened rivalry has led to strategic moves from various players in the industry, each vying for a larger share of the lucrative Chinese market. Coinciding with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 16, Huawei unveiled a triple-fold smartphone Mate XT, which was described as the world’s largest and thinnest foldable handset. The smartphone company recorded the number of pre-order units for this model as reaching 4 million.  In contrast, Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup faced challenges. The Pro models saw only minor external design changes, while the brand’s biggest selling point, the Apple Intelligence feature, has not yet been available. The delay of the AI feature in the new iPhones has led to hesitation among potential buyers in the Chinese market. According to Reuters, the topic gained significant traction on Chinese social media, with the hashtag “iPhone 16 Chinese version doesn’t support AI yet” generating more than 11 million views and 1500 comments on Weibo.  “It’s crucial to be the first mover to capture the consumer’s attention, especially since there have been fewer wow factors and the market’s growth is unlikely to be as strong as the 4G era,” Will Wong, senior research manager for client devices at IDC Asia Pacific, told Inside Retail.  “Thus, whoever can first appeal to Chinese consumers, who are getting cautious in spending, is more likely to gain the upper hand over its competitors.” The tide has turned In the second quarter, Apple was edged out of the top five smartphone vendors in China as Huawei, Vivo, Oppo, Honor and Xiaomi gained popularity. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple, in China dropped 12.7 per cent year on year in August, while overall phone sales increased 26.7 per cent year on year.  “Chinese consumers are usually well aware of the latest technology and market trends, thanks to well-developed social media in the local country. Thus, consumers may think twice before making a purchase if the product lacks wow factors or just comes with a little upgrade.” With the release of the new iPhone 16 models, the market response was not as subdued as many expected. On launch day, hundreds of people reportedly queued outside Apple’s flagship stores in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.  “It’s too early to say who won the competition, especially since Apple still has a strong base of loyal users,” Wong said.  “One key point that we have seen in the first two quarters of the year is that there was a close race among the top-tier vendors, which is expected to continue. This implies that Apple will need to keep bringing wow factors in terms of hardware and software to continue to attract consumers.” Wong said both Apple and Huawei have a stronger market position in the premium segment, but other Chinese brands still aim to gain a better foothold in the high-end and premium segments. “There has been a value-seeking trend among Chinese consumers amid the soft local economic momentum. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean Chinese consumers will just buy cheaper products. The resilient consumers will still buy expensive products if there’s enough enticing value.”