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HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES and Apple are facing off in China, as the Mate XT tri-fold handset and new iPhone 16 hit the shelves on the same day, drawing consumers and scalpers alike amid intense competition in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
At Huawei’s flagship store in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district on Friday afternoon, the display area for the Mate XT, priced from 19 999 yuan (US$2 800), attracted continuous crowds keen to see product demonstrations by staff or try out the new handset themselves.
However, with limited availability, only people who pre-ordered at the store and received a confirmation message from Huawei were able to buy the new phone on Friday.
Walk-in customers were not able to buy one or place an order on the spot, according to staff at the flagship store.
“I drove here (on September 7) to make the pre-order right after I heard about it on the news,” a customer surnamed Chen said after getting his new Mate XT at the store.
“I tried out the phone just now and the experience was wonderful. I’m very excited about this tri-fold phone as it represents the most advanced technologies in China.”
Some interested consumers left disappointed as they could not get the phone.
“I came here hoping to at least find a scalper (but haven’t). I’m fine with a slightly marked-up price of around 26 000 yuan, but I won’t consider it if the price is too high,” said Tony Li, another shopper at the store.
There was a queue of dozens of people in the morning waiting to get their Mate XT, a Huawei sales staff member said, adding that the store had to limit the flow of people to ensure a better customer experience.
The Mate XT sold out on e-commerce platforms, including Huawei’s official online Vmall store, as well as JD.com and Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall, shortly after the sale began on Friday morning.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The Mate XT’s first day sale coincided with the launch in China of Apple’s iPhone 16 series, which drew long queues of consumers in an official Apple store just six kilometres away from the Huawei shop.
More than 100 customers queued to pick up their online orders outside the Apple Store in Nanshan on Friday morning, with dozens of scalpers in the shopping mall looking to buy from new iPhone owners at a mark-up.
The iPhone 16 series display zone also drew large crowds.
However, the iPhone trade this year has been weak compared to previous generations, according to dealers.
“The Pro Max model still draws the biggest interest from dealers, but the mark-up this year is only a few hundreds (of yuan),” one reseller said on Friday.
Apple is facing mounting challenges in China due to uncertainties over the rollout of its latest artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in the country, as well as the intense competition with domestic rivals, including Huawei.
Forecast shipments of Huawei’s Mate XT have been raised from 500 000 to one million units in 2024, according to Kuo Ming-chi, analyst at TF International Securities.
“However, it is important to monitor whether Mate XT’s initial demand enthusiasm can be sustained after its launch,” Kuo added. “It’s worth noting that there have been instances where demand for Huawei’s flagship models dropped rapidly after their release in the past.” — South China Morning Post
Online Reporter