Apple introduced the iPhone 15 series in September. Data shows that China – the world’s largest smartphone market – was not completely impressed with the new smartphone from “Apple”. Bloomberg cited data from research firm GfK showing that iPhone 15 sales in the first week of release there were 6% lower than iPhone 14.
Chinese social media is also flooded with opinions about the iPhone 15. According to Business Insider, posts related to the iPhone 15 attracted more than 100 million views on the Weibo platform.
While some criticized the high price and lack of new features compared to competitors, others compared the iPhone 15 to a series of domestic smartphones such as the Huawei Mate 60 Pro - launched a few weeks earlier and is being evaluated as a resounding success.
“It’s not that Huawei is superior, it’s that Apple is too ‘weak’. If it were you, would you upgrade to the iPhone 15 just to have a USB-C charging port?” one person asked on Weibo.
Another commented: “Except for Apple’s software, everything else is terrible. The price is also much more expensive. Now, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo are all on par, if not better than Apple.” “Even my 5-year-old Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro still works fine. It doesn’t freeze and when I go out, I don’t have to carry a power bank. What is Apple doing to its phones?” he added.
Some people admired the minimalist design of iOS, but criticized Apple for making only minor improvements over previous models. “There’s not much difference between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 15,” one person said, pointing out that both phones have the same refresh rate. “The camera hasn’t improved much. The battery is small. It takes a long time to charge. The phone signal is poor. No need to upgrade,” the author continued.
The negative reviews of the iPhone 15 aren’t limited to China. When Apple first announced the product, the company faced a strong backlash from fans, who called it “extremely disappointing.”
On Weibo, one person claimed that “the iPhone 15 has ceded significant market share to the Huawei Mate 60” because both companies target the same user segment. “The iPhone is not cheap. Apple makes a lot of profit from the iPhone. Buying an iPhone means giving cash to Americans,” the person wrote.
Apple is under pressure in China amid continued tensions between the US and China. The US tech giant’s position in the country of a billion people is increasingly precarious. The Chinese government has banned some officials from using iPhones and launched an investigation into Foxconn, Apple’s main contractor.
China is an important market for Apple, as well as an iPhone manufacturing base. About 18% of Apple’s total revenue comes from China. The iPhone is one of the most popular smartphones in the country. In the fourth quarter of 2022, one-quarter of mobile phones sold there were Apple, according to research firm Counterpoint .
(According to Insider)
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