Apple and Huawei: The Final Showdown
The premium smartphone wars in China have had both companies competing with each other by offering tremendous discounts on flagships. As part of its New Year sales, Apple has discounted some versions of the iPhone. In retaliation, Huawei will discount some of its premium devices, such as the Pura 70 Ultra, to try to reel in more customers and establish a stronger foothold.
Premium Segment
High end smartphones in China are those over $600. Huawei and Apple are front runners in the segment, with the former at 52% and the latter at 33%. Huawei dominated the market only to see Mate 70 series lag behind Apple. However, Huawei is still second in the market.
Pura 70 Ultra Discount
Huawei is aggressively pricing its flagship Pura 70 Ultra to sell. It has now cut the 1TB version by 18% from 10,999 yuan ($1,494) to 8,999 yuan ($1,233). The 512GB version is cut by 20%, making it even more accessible for consumers. It topped the 1,000 yuan ($137) price discount last summer, making it more competitive as well.
Other Discounts From Huawei
In addition to Pura 70 Ultra, the Huawei Mate X5 foldable is on sale for 19% off, at 10,499 yuan ($1,343). It was released in September 2023 and remains red-hot: last year it was the best-selling foldable in China.
Mate 70 Series Challenges
Huawei Mate 70 series is not living up to expectations in terms of sales. Part of the problem is the processor, Kirin 9020, which has less power efficiency and is far less powerful compared to Apple’s 3nm A18 and A18 Pro. Kirin 9020 is based on 7nm node and takes more power but less performance as compared to the latest chips of Apple. Counterpoint Research indicates that Huawei is going to sell at least 10 million units of Mate 70 series, but is really optimistic about this.
Competition in China
The competition has got a lot tougher of late as the other Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo are also playing for the premium end. It’s a hard-fought battle. Huawei is depending on HarmonyOS that has only recently entered the market. HarmonyOS has received tremendous acceptance with OS comparable to that of Android that is there for thousands of applications, thereby gifting the Chinese consumer an entire different ecosystem.
It is still strong in the region with its innovative marketing and steady promos. And it’s the only other non-Android option aside from HarmonyOS by Huawei. Apple never gives up on quality and exclusivity that is what a big chunk of the market wants.
Final Words
Huawei has priced Pura 70 Ultra and more flagships very competitively. It will now compete hard in the high-end smartphone market in China. However, Apple still leads with its tech while other local brands take bigger portions of the market. It will be difficult for Huawei to win in this scenario. We will see when discounts and HarmonyOS can win the buyer.
There will be a follow-up about the real competitor between Huawei and Apple in this dynamic marketplace.
Via Wccftech