Markets

‘Apple Should’ve Sold It at Half the Price’: Users in a Country Are Furious Over the Lack of the Most Attractive Feature on iPhone 16

The most anticipated feature on the iPhone 16 will not support Mandarin (or any other Chinese dialect) until at least next year.

Administrator

12 September, 2024

According to Reuters, Apple’s debut of its new iPhone generation has been criticized as the new AI feature only supports English, excluding Mandarin Chinese. This poses a challenge for the US giant as it faces increasing competition from Huawei in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 in the early hours of September 10, Vietnam time, with the long-awaited AI capabilities. The AI feature is expected to encourage consumers to upgrade amid slowing smartphone sales for Apple in China.

However, Apple has yet to announce its AI partner in China for Apple Intelligence, and the company’s AI software will only support Mandarin Chinese next year.

The iPhone 16 launch dominated social media discussions in China on September 10, ahead of Huawei’s launch of its triple-folding smartphone later that day. Huawei’s Mate XT, a triple-folding smartphone, has already received 4 million pre-orders despite its recent launch.

On Weibo, 3 out of the top 10 trending topics were related to the iPhone 16 launch, with the AI feature being a key discussion point.

The hashtag “iPhone 16 Chinese version does not support AI” garnered 11.33 million views and over 1,500 comments on the social media platform Weibo.

“What’s the point of buying an iPhone 16 if I can’t use the AI feature?” wrote one Weibo user.

“Without AI, the price of the newest model should be halved,” commented another.

The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will be priced similarly to their respective 15 models released in 2023. In China, Apple implemented significant price cuts earlier this year due to government restrictions on the use of foreign-branded phones and increasing competition, which weighed heavily on the company’s smartphone sales.

Other Weibo users compared Apple’s launch to Huawei’s new phone, as the latter unveiled its triple-folding “blockbuster” smartphone in an effort to solidify its lead over Apple in their home market.

“Whether or not the iPhone 16 has AI doesn’t matter to me because I’m going to buy Huawei’s triple-folding phone,” commented a social media user.

However, some analysts predict that the absence of AI functionality on the iPhone 16 is unlikely to significantly impact sales in the near future.

“Chinese consumers are not yet motivated to upgrade because of AI capabilities… However, in the long run, as domestic brands use AI as a key differentiator for their flagship products, it will negatively impact Apple,” commented Toby Zhu, an analyst at Canalys, a technology market research firm.

Zhu stated that Apple needs to localize its services and quickly establish an AI service and application ecosystem in China to maintain its competitiveness.

According to Will Wong, an analyst at IDC, Apple’s robust operating system continues to appeal to Chinese consumers.

“Apple’s main competitive advantage is its strong customer lock-in. Hence, the replacement demand from users of iPhone 11, 12, or 13 could still support Apple’s sales even without AI,” Wong said.

“It’s too early to tell who will come out on top,” he added.

The new iPhone will be available for pre-order on September 13 in China through online retailers like JD.com, with deliveries starting on September 20.

According to Reuters