Apple\u2019s new iPhone 16 failed to excite investors with long-expected Artificial Intelligence (AI) features still in test mode even as an industry-first tri-fold phone from Huawei raised the stakes in a battle to dominate the global smartphone market. Apple\u2019s shares fell 1.7 per cent on Tuesday, a day after the US tech giant unveiled its new iPhones that sport hardware-level integration for applications based on artificial intelligence but with limited changes to the external design. The phones will use AI features \u2014 dubbed Apple Intelligence \u2014 to improve the company\u2019s voice assistant Siri as well as enhance the camera. Those features will arrive on US iPhones in beta next month, potentially keeping people from upgrading to iPhone 16s soon. \u201cWith lots of words like \u2018later this year\u2019 and \u2018early next year\u2019, the core Apple message for iPhone 16 was: Next year will be better,\u201d Needham analyst Laura Martin said in a note. Apple did not say when it would move beyond the test phase, nor did it announce a partner in China to help power its AI ambitions. The lack of AI features in the new iPhones drew scorn in China, where the government has mandated that generative AI-based chatbots need to be vetted before their public release. The hashtag \u201ciPhone 16 Chinese version doesn\u2019t support AI yet\u201d attracted 11.33 million views and over 1,500 comments on Weibo. \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of buying it if you can\u2019t use AI?\u201d wrote one Weibo user. Another commented, \u201cWithout AI as the biggest selling point, it should be half price.\u201d Apple did not raise prices for the new iPhones, which Wall Street analysts said was a good strategy as consumers are not willing to splurge on big-ticket items. Huawei, which showed off its new Mate XT smartphone hours after the Apple event, has priced the tri-fold device at $2,800. \u201cProduction constraints and the high price point mean the new (Huawei) phone will likely not have a huge impact in terms of shipments,\u201d said Will Wong, senior researcher at consultancy IDC. \u201cBut it\u2019s telling the consumers that it\u2019s still the tech leader and the potential challenge it brings to Apple may be far beyond just market share.\u201d Comeback Mate XT has already received more than 4m pre-orders, for which no deposit is required, according to the company\u2019s website. It boasts an AI assistant with text summary, translation and editing functions, as well as AI-boosted image editing functions such as trimming unwanted parts of photos. Huawei\u2019s string of successful smartphone launches in recent months underscores the company\u2019s ability to navigate US sanctions and solidifies its position against Apple in China. In contrast, Apple\u2019s sales have slowed in the country after seeing strong growth for years, and its ranking in the world\u2019s second-largest economy has now dropped from third to sixth place. IPhone shipments in China fell by 6.7pc in the second quarter of 2024, according to data from Canalys. Huawei made a comeback to the high-end smartphone segment last year with the release of a device powered by a domestically made chip, defying US sanctions that have cut off its access to the global chipset supply chain. The launch of the Mate 60 Pro surprised analysts and US officials. Both the Mate XT and iPhone 16 go on sale on September 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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