Huawei’s comeback in China last year with its Kirin 9000S and the Mate 60 series spelled trouble for Apple and its iPhone 15 lineup, with the Cupertino giant forced to introduce discounts on various models to help keep the sales momentum running. Fortunately, the company has successfully turned things around with its iPhone 16 launch, at least in the first three weeks, as the latest data reveals that the new lineup outsold the previous-generation one by 20 percent. Now, we take a look at which particular handset was the most popular during this time.
As usual, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max were the most popular in China, outselling their immediate predecessors by 44 percent
Despite officially launching the Mate XT, which is Huawei’s and the world’s first commercially available tri-fold smartphone, at the same time as the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple got off to an excellent start by registering 20 percent higher shipments compared to the iPhone 15 series from last year. Reuters, which spotted the data from Counterpoint Research, also shares that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have performed exceptionally well in the region, with their combined sales exceeding the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max by a mammoth 44 percent.
It should be noted that Huawei has yet to unveil its Mate 70 family, with the former Chinese giant rumored to announce the new series in November. Given that the Mate XT’s base model started from $2,800, it was not financially feasible for a large customer base to upgrade to the tri-fold flagship, but in just a few weeks, they will have the opportunity to switch to one of Huawei’s latest and greatest. One of the biggest highlights of transitioning to one of the iPhone 16 models was support for Apple Intelligence.
Unfortunately, Apple’s suite of generative AI features will not arrive in China just yet, as these will first roll out in the U.S. and Canada. It appears that for the majority of customers in the region, the lack of a design change did not take priority, but rather Apple’s decision to address various complaints that were present with the older models. Naturally, the lack of an aesthetics makeover means that current iPhone 15 owners will not find the encouragement to upgrade to the newer models, but those who are in possession of older iPhones likely felt the need to switch.
