Huawei recently announced plans to hold a product launch event on September 10th, just hours after Apple’s annual iPhone reveal. This strategic move is seen as an attempt by the Chinese technology giant to upstage its U.S. rival. The event is scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m. Beijing time, which translates to late evening on September 9th on the west coast of the U.S., where Apple’s event will be held.
While Apple is expected to unveil its iPhone 16 lineup at its event with the tagline “It’s Glowtime,” Huawei has not disclosed what it plans to launch at its event. Richard Yu, who leads Huawei’s consumer and automotive technology group, teased the upcoming product as “leading, innovative, and disruptive” in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Yu claimed that the product is “epoch-making” and something that others have only dreamt of creating.
Huawei, once the world’s biggest smartphone player, faced setbacks due to U.S. sanctions that restricted its access to the latest semiconductors. Despite this, the Shenzhen-based tech company managed to release new phones with advanced chips that surprised policymakers and the tech industry. Huawei’s resurgence has posed a challenge to Apple in China, where it surpassed the iPhone maker in smartphone shipments.
According to research from Canalys, Apple lost its position among the top five smartphone vendors by market share in China in the second quarter of this year. In contrast, Huawei experienced a 41% year-on-year increase in smartphone shipments in the same period, making it the fastest-growing brand among the top five in the Chinese market. This growth highlights Huawei’s efforts to regain its foothold in the smartphone industry despite facing challenges from competitors and geopolitical tensions.
Huawei’s decision to schedule a product launch event right after Apple’s iPhone reveal demonstrates its intention to compete with and potentially overshadow its U.S. counterpart. The secrecy surrounding the upcoming product, coupled with Richard Yu’s bold claims about its innovation and disruptiveness, has generated anticipation and curiosity among tech enthusiasts and consumers. Huawei’s resurgence and growth in the Chinese smartphone market signal its resilience and determination to overcome obstacles and maintain its position as a key player in the industry.