AI-less iPhone 16 frustrates Chinese users amid Huawei tri-fold’s popularity

Apple iPhone 16 series is now official but it seems the flagship lineup failed to impress Chinese users due to a lack of AI and the growing popularity of the Huawei tri-fold. Many people criticized the models for the absence of artificial intelligence.

The U.S. tech giant launched its next-gen iPhone models on September 9. The new handsets arrived in elegant shades, interesting features, as well as AI capabilities. Although the twist is that AI functions in China will only be available next year.

Inputs reveal that the US company hasn’t announced its AI partner or the super-capable Apple Intelligence (Apple’s AI software) in China. It’s said to be available in the Chinese language only by next year.

AI-less iPhone 16 models immediately resulted in a buzz among Chinese consumers and they started comparing the new handsets with the Huawei tri-fold phone.

Weibo shows the iPhone 16 launch, AI, and a few more Apple-related news in the top 10 trending topics. A popular hashtag on Weibo is: “iPhone 16 Chinese version doesn’t support AI yet”. This tag received 11.33 million views with 1500 comments.

Users commented:

“What’s the point of buying it if you can’t use AI?”
“Without AI as the biggest selling point, it should be a half price”

AI-less iPhone 16 frustrates Chinese users amid Huawei tri-fold’s popularity (Image Credits: Apple Newsroom)

Despite the lack of AI, the standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus costs the same as the predecessors. However, the company might reduce the price in the time ahead.

Some users even said that the iPhone 16 with or without AI doesn’t affect them as they will purchase Huawei’s triple-folding phone. Following this buzz, a few analysts predicted the upcoming ups and downs in Apple’s sales in the Chinese market.

Toby Zhu – a Canalys analyst said that the absence of AI in iPhone 16 could negatively affect Apple later. AI is a key subject in flagship products these days. Hence, Apple needs to develop an AI app or service ecosystem in China to remain competitive.

On the other hand, IDC analyst Will Wong says:

“The key competitive advantage of Apple is its strong customer stickiness. Thus, the replacement needs of the users of the iPhone 11, 12, or 13 series could still support the sales of Apple in the absence of AI. It’s still too early to say who will win”

Yes, it’s too early to say who will win between Apple and Huawei as the tri-fold phone has yet to see a market response. For now, we can only wait for the upcoming results of the fierce competition between the two tech giants.

[Source – Reuters]