How Huawei’s Innovative Design is Threatening Apple’s Dominance
One of Apple Inc.’s most important markets is challenging the company’s record as a global innovator. Tech giant Huawei, to whom Apple has been losing out a category, leaves ripples in the smartphone industry with the release of its new Tri-Fold phone. This gadget has been increasingly popular with tech-savvy Chinese consumers in a glowing testament to Huawei’s influence over the smartphone market. Huawei’s tri-fold phone design, as well as its flexible and expandable character, poses a serious threat to Apple, which must be prepared to reboot in the face of increased challenges if it is to continue holding onto its slice of China.
Today, we take a look at why some believe Huawei is set to demand Apple properly introduce the iPhone 13 in its next iteration of mobile products or be pushed into deeper obscurity by the tri-fold handset manufacturer.
Huawei’s Tri-Fold Phone: Innovation at Its Finest
Huawei but also to redefine what a foldable phone can be Huawei’s tri-fold model could solve many of the issues that led to problems with earlier attempts at foldable phones. It even folds not once, but twice — half for a phone size and then fully unfolded for a tablet-sized screen On the other hand, this versatility is particularly useful for those who need both entertainment and productivity — a very diverse audience segment.
Probably the most notable feature of Huawei’s tri-fold is its display. The display can harness the power of advanced OLED technology, offering a greater range of color accuracy, brightness, and contrast that allows users to enjoy a richer viewing experience in both tablet and phone modes. The hinge mechanism—the key concern of foldable devices has also been significantly enhanced. One of the biggest complaints about earlier foldable has been their lack of hinges durable, but Huawei’s engineers have managed and made theirs swing like a sweet gate.
It also includes software integration allowing the tri-fold to easily switch between different display configurations, as well as tie-ins with Huawei’s own EMUI interface. The process of moving from app to app or arranging windows on screen is extremely smooth and natural, whether went about using the mouse or your hands. Huawei is now well-positioned to take on its rivals, including Apple, as it has achieved a similar level of hardware-software integration.
Apple’s Struggles in the Chinese Market
Apple has enjoyed a strong position in the Chinese market for years, with premium hardware and brand loyalty all going a long way toward ensuring Apple’s status. Yet Apple has been hit by mounting competition from local companies like Huawei, as well as others such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo in the region in recent years. Huawei just released their tri-fold phone which only caused more of these issues which has only emphasized Apple will not be able to get through this without innovating in the foldable space.
The biggest disadvantage for Apple is that they are not too quick to enter the foldable phone market. Despite the company’s prowess in perfecting the regular smartphone build, people seem to be moving more towards out-of-the-box foldable devices. This phenomenon has been especially acute in China, a market whose consumers have long been regarded as both tech-savvy and early adopters. This opens the door — even if just a crack, Apple — to everyone from Samsung to Huawei (faster enbracer/perfecter of emerging tech) getting at what could ultimately be tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of potential customers slash falling revenues.
Meanwhile, broader geopolitical squabbles between the U.S. and China have introduced yet another layer of complexity for Apple in the region. The ongoing trade spat and the Chinese government’s intention to wean itself off foreign tech have almost certainly pricked a mild uptick in nationalist fervor when it comes to supporting home-grown names such as Huawei. The Chinese, in part fuelled by national pride and a dearth of local heroes, are also rallying behind homegrown tech companies and avoiding Western alternatives. That change in consumer mood has left Apple facing a looming challenge — its products, typically premium ones, are becoming harder to justify as purchases when they no longer represent what the people hold valuable locally.
What Huawei is Doing Right
Huawei’s mastery of that tension between technological advancement and national pride is probably one reason why the company has been such a formidable competitor for Apple in China. So the tri-fold phone isn’t just a tech riddle but also a totem of Chinese innovation and technical power. The ongoing sanctions and restrictions by the U.S. against Huawei are highly unlikely to help alleviate such sentiment among Chinese consumers, but ironically they also further reinforce Huawei’s desire appeal as a modern brand that continues to innovate in creating cutting-edge devices no matter what.
Huawei has also put a ton of money into its ecosystem, providing Chinese users with unique services and apps. But thanks to its home market and the lack of Google services on Huawei handsets, the company is well aware but has managed to solve this problem by developing an in-house solution that makes the Android experience consistent in China. This focus on localization is another area where Huawei seems to be beating Apple — and thus appealing more to the Chinese market — given their mostly global, rather than locally tailored needs.
The first of these is Huawei’s aggressive pricing strategy. On top of the leading hardware and unique tech inside, Huawei has kept it surprisingly affordable for a first-gen tri-fold phone. The pending release of the Mate 9-probably this summer rumored to feature a first-of-its-kind dual-lens smartphone camera is notable beyond just another flashy addition because for Chinese consumers as with many international phone-buyers, what makes the phones so appealing is that they offer buzzworthy features at prices far lower than Apple’s typically pricey iPhones.
Apple’s Possible Response
Apple will now have to adapt if it wants to stay relevant in China. The first one would be to become a foldable phone company. However, Apple is also notoriously slow to adopt new technologies, although when they do they often are very good implementations of those techs. But if Apple were to release a foldable iPhone – using its peerless track record in hardware design and software optimization – it could dwarf Huawei for fit and finish, user experience.
Furthermore, Apple may have to rethink its pricing approach in China. Apple has always been a premium brand, and while there is ample room to produce more price-competitive models or region-specific features that would appeal to the Chinese market it would do well as Huawei and other local competitors are increasing their share of the pie.
Last but not least, Apple could be doing a lot more in localization. This isn’t simply about providing language options or an app that works with locals but understanding the individual circumstances and wants of Chinese consumers. Such improvements in the Chinese app economy could also offer Apple a better value proposition for Chinese users — by helping it forge stronger relationships with local developers and bring more services in tune with market-specific tastes.
Conclusion
In the latest battle between Apple and Huawei in the Chinese market, Huawei released their tri-fold phone! That’s a level of weirdness we haven’t yet seen from Apple, though it’s exactly the sort of thing one might expect in the smartphone space. Apple will have to rise to this challenge with an innovation benchmark set by Huawei, which is capitalizing upon nationalistic fervor — they will either be part of the foldable phone market or continue contemplating a different identity. The next few years will be hugely important for both firms as the Chinese techiest battle to win control of the world’s most crucial market for technology.
