Apple’s latest iPhone 16 release has not been exciting to investors, as the much anticipated AI integration is still in the testing phase. Huawei has stepped up the ante in the smartphone battle around the world with its unique tri-folding Mate XT in the industry. Having released the latest model of iPhone, the company’s shares fell by 1.7 % on Tuesday, which means that the market did not give a warm welcome to the product. 

 The iPhone 16 has built-in support at the hardware level for AI applications that enhance Siri and the back camera. However, these so-called ‘Apple Intelligence’ features will not be available at first and are expected to be launched in beta next month in the USA only. Thus, some of them may prefer to wait until such features are provided in the new device. The look of the iPhone 16 remains in the general outlook as indicated in the above predictions, hence creating the backdrop for negative reactions in the future. 

 “With phrases like ‘later this year’ and ‘early next year,’ the core message for iPhone 16 was: In general, investors tend to suspect that next year is going to be better,” said Laura Martin, the analyst at Needham. Apple has not pointed out when the AI-specific aspects will cease to be in the beta testing phase, and the company does not have a named Chinese partner to underpin its AI strategy. 

 The lack of AI features in iPhone 16 was criticized recently, especially in China, where the government has it that any AI chatbots that are capable of producing human-like conversations have to undergo clearance standards. The Weibo hashtag ‘iPhone 16 Chinese version’ does not support AI yet; however, it was seen over 11+ million times, and people were angry. Some Weibo users take the following statements: He cited phrases such as “What’s the point of buying it if you can’t use AI?” and another one that said, “Without AI as the biggest selling point, then it should be half price. ” 

 That said, analysts have noted that the reduction in the price of the new iPhones is a plus, even though they were expecting Apple to increase the price. Another factor that could play to Apple’s benefit is that as things stand in the current economic climate, customers are not able to afford to purchase expensive products. Therefore, Apple is keeping a steady and constant price strategy. On the other hand, Huawei introduced a new tri-fold Mate XT phone that cost $2,800. Hence, the launch of the new Huawei phone was clearly aimed at targeting the high-end smartphone market. 

 Another device that Huawei released at the event following Apple’s launch is Mate XT, which comes equipped with an in-built smart assistant that utilizes AI in text condensation, translation, and even image processing, meaning that Huawei has the competitive edge when it comes to innovation in AI. It has more than 4 million pre-orders, which is corroborated by market indications that it has high popularity among its users, not to mention the fact that the popularity comes with an accompanying deposit. This is the opinion of the senior researcher at IDC, Will Wong in his words: “Although the production problems and a high price can make the new Huawei phone have no sharp increase in shipment, it informs consumers that Huawei continues to be one of the leaders of the technological industry. 

 Huawei’s high-end products, such as the Mate 60 Pro, which uses a self-developed chip made domestically, have helped Huawei fight US sanctions and pose a serious threat to Apple in China. Out of the world market, iPhone sales in China have decreased to a staggering low. This is in terms of shipments, which are also expected to decrease by 6.7% in the second quarter of 2024, according to Canalys. 

 Some of the other aspects of iPhone 16 and Mate XT are their prices and their availability in the markets. This has caused Apple to delay the release of the iPhone 16 and Mate XT, with the devices expected to be in the market on September 20th. Of the two industry leaders, Apple and Huawei, the two firms are really struggling in the global smartphone market. Huawei has made quite an astounding comeback and thus has put Apple under pressure to perform and provide some beautiful out-of-the-box thinking in the future.