[Beijing Diary] Huawei Presses iPhone on 'WeChat'... Reasons for Continued Anxiety

In China, Apple and Huawei are engaged in a direct showdown. On the front lines of the market, Apple’s ‘iPhone 15’ and Huawei’s ‘Mate 60 Pro,’ the two latest smartphone models, are targeting each other. In the recently sluggish Chinese market for durable goods, one side’s success essentially means the other’s underperformance. This is especially true in the high-end, high-spec smartphone market segment where both companies’ positions are even more pronounced.

The United States and China are watching the situation with complex feelings. Despite political and diplomatic disputes and supply chain conflicts, the Chinese smartphone market has operated almost as if in a different world until now. When Huawei, pressured by the U.S., was unable to exert much influence, the iPhone, which captured the attention of Chinese consumers, sold like wildfire. On new product launch days, related news and reviews dominated Chinese portal sites and social networking services (SNS). This indicated that Chinese authorities acknowledged and accepted Apple’s expanding market share.

However, the atmosphere has recently changed. First, the initial momentum of each company’s new product launch seems somewhat dominated by Huawei. A mythical narrative has formed around Huawei overcoming U.S. pressure to produce high-spec smartphones with its own technology, combined with a patriotic consumption boom among young Chinese consumers and active support from local media.

Let’s look at the ‘WeChat Index’ compiled by WeChat, China’s largest messenger platform. The WeChat Index is calculated based on the number of views of content containing specific keywords, considering likes, comments, and viewing time. As of 2 p.m. local time on the 15th, the index for ‘Huawei’ was 911,754,81. This figure, which hovered around 100 million, rapidly surged from the Mate 60 Pro launch on the 29th and, after fluctuations, has reached an all-time high. It rose 4.61% compared to the previous day.

On the other hand, ‘Apple’ recorded 647,763,553 on the same day, a 6.07% decrease from the day after the iPhone 15 unveiling on the 14th. Considering that pre-sales for the iPhone 15 began at 8 p.m. on the 15th on JD.com and Taobao, this is somewhat underwhelming.

A more noticeable change is that iPhone-related content cannot be found among the top popular search terms or trending topics on portal sites or SNS. It is suspected that the relevant authorities, who usually intervene in the exposure level or ranking of major issues, have intervened again this time. If the authorities did intervene, it can be read as a declaration that they will not leave public preference and interest in the iPhone 15 unchecked. This aligns with the earlier ‘iPhone ban’ order issued to government officials.

However, the initial momentum of the iPhone in the actual market does not seem to be significantly lagging. According to local Chinese reports, when the official Apple Store on the Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall began pre-orders for the iPhone 15 series at 8 p.m. on the 16th, the Pro and Pro Max models sold out within one minute. On the delivery platform Meituan Waimai, sales exceeded 200 million yuan (approximately 36.3 billion KRW) within 30 minutes of pre-orders.

It is still unknown which side will claim a decisive victory in this battle. If, ‘nevertheless,’ the iPhone achieves meaningful success, China will find itself in a difficult situation. This would be evidence that patriotic sentiment could not overcome the still inferior technological capabilities. While search volume and interest may be distorted or confused by government intervention, the control over sales data lies with the U.S. and Apple. The outcome of this contest is becoming increasingly intriguing.