Apple iPhone 8 To Face Tough Competition Against Xiaomi, Others In China

While U.S. consumers are eagerly anticipating the launch of Apple’s iPhone 8, the same cannot really be said of consumers in China, where the Cupertino giant’s market share has significantly decreased last year. This 2017, the premium smartphone competition in China is about to get more intense as more affordable, feature-rich flagship phones become available in the country.

Apple is definitely going to face tough competition in China this year. Just this Wednesday, DigiTimes reported how Chinese smartphone vendors are already preparing to launch their all-screen premium handsets for the second half of the year. Xiaomi, Huawei and Gionee are perceived to be among the major players in the smartphone market competition this time around.

First off, Xiaomi is planning to release its successor to the Mi Mix. The company may have suffered a setback in 2016, but it is now determined to bounce back by launching its second-generation (almost) all-screen phone, the Mi Mix 2. Last year when it launched the Mi Mix, the company surprised many consumers since it was the first smartphone to feature an almost bezel-less design. While the original Mi Mix became more of a limited concept phone, Xiaomi intends the Mi Mix 2 to be readily available to many consumers in order for the company to grab more market share.

Another Chinese phone maker that’s hard at work in preparing the launch of its next flagship phone is Huawei. The manufacturer is expected to unveil the Mate 10 this year. According to latest reports, the company could be preparing a regular Mate 10 and a more premium offering called the Mate 10 Pro. One of the two is expected to feature a 6-inch AMOLED display from Japan Display with 18:9 screen resolution. Expectations for the Mate 10 are high since Huawei has been enjoying significant success with its phones so far. In the first half, the company shipped 73.01 million handsets, which is 20.6 percent more than the figures from the year before.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Gionee is also part of the tight market competition this second half with its Gionee S10 phone. The device is the world’s first four camera phone, since it features dual cameras on the back as well as on the front. Industry sources claim that despite already launching the phone, the company is planning to release all-screen models for the remainder of 2017, MacRumors has learned.

Given all of the flagship rivals of the iPhone 8, it won’t be surprising if Apple’s handset will not emerge triumphant in China this year. In 2016, the Cupertino giant experienced its first year-over-year decline in the Chinese smartphone market due to the fact that its iPhone 7 handsets were outpaced by more affordable flagship devices from Chinese phone makers.

Nevertheless, it’s also important to point out that the iPhone 7 did not do well in the Chinese market because the device failed to kick up a frenzy among consumers due to its lack of a redesign. Knowing that Apple is doing its best to deliver a more advanced bezel-less iteration this year, it’s still possible for the iPhone 8 to achieve success in China. As of late, Apple is in fifth place in the Chinese smartphone market. Only time will tell if the iPhone 8 and the “S” cycle installments slated to arrive this fall will move Apple’s position to the top.