Apple vs Huawei: A new smartphone battle divides China
Apple's iPhone 15 drew mixed reactions in its third-largest market of China on Wednesday, with many online users liking its faster chip and improved gaming capabilities while others preferred Huawei's new smartphone.
China remains key for the U.S. tech giant, which unveiled its new iPhone lineup on Tuesday. The company occupies a leading position in China's premium smartphone market, in part due to the decimation of Huawei Technologies' smartphone business by U.S. export controls, but has also come under scrutiny in the run-up to the iPhone 15's launch.
Shares in Apple and its suppliers were battered last week after reports that Chinese government agencies and state firms were banning staff from using the phone and Huawei launched a new smartphone with an advanced chip, seen as an effort by the Chinese firm for a comeback.
The unveiling of Apple's iPhone 15 attracted intense discussion online on Wednesday, as new models have done in the past. The new phone goes on sale online in China on Alibaba's Tmall marketplace on Sept. 15, and in-stores on Sept. 22.
Topics discussing the new launch attracted 380 million views on social media platform Weibo, with more than 800,000 discussions, including posts, comments and likes, on the iPhone 15.
Many cheered the iPhone 15 Pro's new 3 nanometer chip and Apple's pitch that console-quality games such as "Resident Evil 4 Remake", can be played on the device, appealing to China's army of mobile gamers.
But several social media users had misgivings about choosing an American brand over a domestically made rival, especially after state media applauded the roll out of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro earlier this month as a triumph by China over U.S. sanctions.
A survey by Chinese news portal Sina on the
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
