- People in China just aren’t that enamored with Apple’s iPhone 15.
- Apple faces stiff local competition from Chinese rival Huawei, which launched its Mate 60 Pro smartphone weeks before the iPhone 15.
- “It’s not that Huawei is superior, it’s that Apple is inferior,” one person wrote on Weibo.
Apple launched its new iPhone 15 only last month, but new data coming out of China suggests the world’s largest smartphone market isn’t totally enamored with the new product.
For context, sales of the iPhone 15 in China in its launch month were 6% lower than the iPhone 14 over the same period last year, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing data from market researcher GfK.
And now, social media users in China have begun piling on their opinions of the iPhone 15. As of press time, posts discussing the iPhone 15 have drawn over 100 million views on Weibo, China’s version of X.
While some criticized the smartphone’s high price point and a lack of new features as compared to rival products, others pitted it against the local competition — such as homegrown rival Huawei’s new flagship Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which launched weeks before the iPhone 15 and is already considered to be a monster hit.
“It’s not that Huawei is superior, it’s that Apple is inferior. If it were you, would you upgrade to the iPhone 15 just to get USB C charging?” read one post on Weibo.
Another person wrote: “Other than Apple’s software, everything else is worse. Their prices are so much higher. Now, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo are just as good, if not better than Apple.”
“Even my 5-year-old Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro is still working fine. It doesn’t hang and when I’m out, I don’t need to carry a portable battery pack. What are you doing with your phones Apple? ” the person added.
While some admired the minimalist design of Apple’s iOS operating system, they also criticized the company for making only incremental changes to the newer models.
“There isn’t that big of a difference between the iPhone 13 and 15,” one person said on Weibo, adding that both models have the same refresh rate.
“The improvement in the camera ain’t big. The batteries are just as small. Charging still takes just as long. The phone signal is poor. There is no need to upgrade,” the person continued.
The scathing assessments of Apple’s iPhones aren’t unique to China. When Apple unveiled the new models in September, it was met with social media backlash from some fans who called the new phones “incredibly disappointing.”
One Weibo user wrote in a post on Monday that “Apple’s iPhone 15 has ceded significant market share to Huawei’s Mate 60” because both companies are “targeting the same consumer segment.”
“Besides, who will change their smartphone for no reason? An iPhone ain’t cheap. Apple has been raking in huge profits from their iPhones. Buying an iPhone is essentially gifting the Americans with cash,” he added.
Apple launched the iPhone 15 at its “Wonderlust” event in September. The latest iPhone comes with a USB-C charging port to comply with EU laws.
The iPhone 15 Pro also features a titanium frame and an “action button,” a customizable button that is already proving popular with Apple fans, who have used it to do everything from unlocking their cars to ordering a latte.
Apple is under pressure in China
Apple’s “symbiotic” relationship with China has come under increasing strain in recent years, as the rivalry between the US and China heats up.
And deteriorating relations between these two countries have made the tech giant’s position in the country increasingly precarious.
The Chinese government has banned some officials from using iPhones, and has launched an investigation into key iPhone manufacturer Foxconn.
But China is a critical market for Apple. It is a manufacturing hub for Apple devices, and the country earned about 18% of its total revenue from China last year.
The iPhone is also one of the most popular smartphones in China. In the last quarter of 2022, Apple’s flagship product made up a quarter of all mobile devices sold in China, per Hong Kong research firm Counterpoint.
Representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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