Apple is set to unveil its iPhone 16 on Monday, focusing on how its flagship device’s features are infused with artificial intelligence, but it could be overshadowed by a triple-folding smartphone launched by China’s Huawei hours earlier.
Apple’s event at the tech giant’s Apple Park headquarters is set to kick off at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT). Huawei has scheduled an announcement of its Mate XT phone just hours after Apple’s presentation.
The Chinese company’s website showed Monday that it had garnered more than 3 million pre-orders for its Z-shaped foldable phone. That underscores Huawei’s ability to navigate U.S. sanctions and cements its position against Apple in China, where consumers crave more artificial intelligence features and are willing to pay for them.
Apple shares fell 1.25 percent in morning trading.
“The Chinese market is more hungry for AI features than the U.S. market,” said Ben Bajarin, chief executive and principal analyst at Creative Strategies. For Apple, “it’s going to be very difficult to bring it to China right away, so they’re going to rely on the merits of the hardware.”
Apple introduced Apple Intelligence at its developer conference in June, its version of generative AI that can create text, images and other content using commands.
But these updates will take time to reach consumers.
Apple Intelligence features are expected to launch in a software update to the iPhone and iPad operating system likely in October, and a full update to Apple’s voice assistant Siri is likely to arrive early next year, according to media reports.
In order to launch Apple Intelligence in the Chinese market, Beijing must approve it. In July, OpenAI blocked access to ChatGPT in China, a move that could affect the chatbot’s integration into Siri.
iPhones accounted for more than half of Apple’s $383 billion in sales last year, and the new devices are a major upgrade for the Cupertino, California-based company, which is betting that artificial intelligence will prompt consumers to upgrade their devices amid a slowdown in iPhone sales.
In China, Apple aggressively cut prices earlier this year, driven by government restrictions and increasing domestic competition.
The iPhone 16 line will be the first of Apple’s smartphones designed around these AI features, though they will also be available on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the high-end versions of the previous-generation devices. New versions of the Apple Watch and AirPods are also expected.
“The software aspect and how Apple frames it is the big question,” Bajarin said. “Investors will be looking to see if it’s compelling enough to have a larger-than-normal upgrade cycle.” Rivals such as Alphabet’s Google are also showing off artificial intelligence features to try to break Apple’s dominance in the high-end smartphone market.
Google, the developer of the Android operating system that competes with Apple’s iOS, traditionally announced its Pixel smartphones in the fall. This year, it has postponed the event until August, before Apple’s announcement.
Google focused on AI features, such as Gemini Live, which allows users to have live voice conversations with a digital assistant. Many of the AI features Google announced have also been rolled out to Android-based devices made by manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola.
“The question is who will be the first to combine a truly personal AI assistant with accurate, personalized knowledge and insights,” said Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research.
So far, Apple has shared a timeline for the release of Apple Intelligence only in the US, where it is planned for release on compatible devices in the fall.
In June, a week after its developer conference, Apple said it would delay the European launch because of European Union technology rules.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: September 9, 2024 | 11:25 PM IS
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