Author: Sunnyue
Source: Brand front page
As technology giants, Apple and Huawei, although there have been some "small fights" in the promotion of products recently.
For example, Huawei's P60 and Pura 70 Pioneer plans were released directly with a simple letter, and Apple's press conference was postponed.
But at the critical moment, they all choose to be "tough" directly.
On October 31 last year, Huawei and Apple held a press conference at the same time to compete in technology and innovation in computers, mobile phones and other products.
Apple's press conference is like the theme "Coming Fast", so fast that it took half an hour to create the history of "Apple's shortest press conference".
Huawei is focusing on promoting HarmonyOS ecological home and folding screen mobile phones.
Even though both sides seem to be a little "dead", they still "meet" on May 7 this year.
The strongest iPad price increase of 2000 yuan is paving the way for inventory?
On May 7, Huawei and Apple once again launched a "hard-hitting" showdown, launching fierce competition in the field of tablet computers.
Apple held a special event for the release of new products in the spring, announcing the new iPad Pro product, equipped with a new generation of chip M4.
Directly crossed from the M2 chip to the M4 chip, and kept talking about M3, is it because of the "M3" that pays tribute to American boys?
It is said that go to the official website to order the top iPad PRO, the price can reach 27746 yuan, and the minimum configuration is also 8999 to start.
The performance is not clear, but the price is definitely "the highest ever".
●Source: Apple's official website
Compared with the new iPad with a starting price of 6999 yuan last year, this year's price has risen directly by 2000 yuan.
Could it be that in the first quarter of the year, Huawei returned to the first place in China's smartphone market and "squeezed off the altar" and was dissatisfied with the retaliatory price increase?
● Source: Canalys
While Apple released what has been hailed as the "most powerful iPad ever", its first launch event in 2024 failed to attract much attention.
It seems that Apple realizes that everyone's "time is precious" and is unwilling to take up too much.
But in fact, combined with an interesting fact, it may be that Apple has consciously "cleared inventory".
● Source: Internet
Huawei's Huawei Mate60, which was first priced at 5499 last year, who would have thought that the price would rise instead of falling today, and it would come to the price of 6800?
In connection with this press conference, Apple did not adopt a hype strategy, and the entire conference was only 35 minutes long, giving people a tight and fast feeling.
For the average person, the M2 iPad Pro has excess performance and can fight for many more years.
On the bright side, the new iPad's new technology and high performance are used as the "king bomb" to play out, and Apple will be forced to go up first.
Behind the scenes, it may be to promote the inventory flow of older iPads that more people can reach.
Flagship products are often the benchmark of a brand and the upper limit of a brand.
From the perspective of merchants, it is natural to first come up with the best, strongest and most attractive product features.
Whether to buy or not, this is of course the customer's free choice.
The point is to attract people to watch, and the purpose is achieved.
Huawei's sales have topped the charts, surpassing Apple's scramble for AI as the key
In the process of entering the global high-end mobile phone market, Huawei's unavoidable competitor is Apple's "big brother".
At present, Huawei's share of more than $600 in the high-end market is only 5%, and Xiaomi's share is only 1%.
● Source: Internet
Huawei's latest financial report data shows that in the first quarter of this year, the company achieved operating income of 178.45 billion yuan, an increase of 36.66% over the same period last year.
Net profit also achieved a significant increase, soaring by about 564% year-on-year to about 19.65 billion yuan.
There is a significant gap between Huawei and Apple in terms of net profit, Apple is still firmly on the throne of the market giant with a profit of nearly 170 billion, while Huawei's net profit is only 12% of Apple's.
There is still some distance to surpass Apple, but the good news is that Huawei has taken its own unique path in AI.
On April 11, Huawei just released the MateBook X Pro 2024, a high-performance laptop equipped with AI.
It's so thin and light that it can be easily pinched up with two fingers.
●Source: Huawei's official website
Less than a month later, Huawei held an "innovative product launch" in Dubai, releasing the new watch WATCH FIT 3, as well as the previously displayed MateBook X Pro and MatePad 11.5 tablets and other products, as well as its self-developed painting application Go Paint.
Not only released the image brand XMAGE, but also presented a "visual feast" and "Warm World - Huawei Image 12 Years Exhibition" to everyone after the meeting.
I have to say that Huawei has really perfectly integrated "technology" and "art" this time, showing the world Huawei's leading achievements in imaging technology.
● Source: Internet
Huawei not only has new technologies in its products, but also the release of its self-developed Go Paint software also shows its focus on AI layout.
This new software product provides users with a richer set of creative tools and platforms.
In 2024, one of Huawei's core strategies.
It is committed to strengthening the AI capabilities of smart terminals and expanding ICT and industry-level AI practices to the field of consumer electronics.
Although the outcome of the contest between the old hegemon and the emerging forces in this press conference is still difficult to predict, one thing is self-evident.
It is imperative to accelerate the deployment of AI to enrich the product ecosystem.
Apple is rarely controversial, but Huawei is expensive, but it is under siege
In the smartphone market, Apple and Huawei are undoubtedly two technology giants.
Interestingly, though, the two companies are treated very differently when it comes to price.
As soon as Apple releases a new product, no matter how high the price is, some people will pay for it, looking like "expensive is expensive".
But once Huawei wants to challenge the high-end market, it will raise the price slightly.
Netizens have turned on the "spit mode", "Why do you also learn from Apple to play high prices?" "The scolding will come.
Some people see the world with tinted glasses, and once they are put on, they are not easy to take off.
● Source: Internet
As early as 2007, Apple released the first generation of iPhone, and at this time, there were more button phones in China.
Since its debut, Apple has firmly sat on the high-end and luxury brand throne with its unique design ideas, explosive performance and awesome user experience.
No way, who told Apple that the era started so early.
Since then, the brand image has been engraved in the hearts of consumers, and everyone feels that Apple's high price is completely deserved, and there is even a feeling that buying it can improve its quality and status.
Although Huawei has also made great progress in technology research and development and brand building in recent years, compared with Apple, the brand influence is indeed a little bit worse.
So when Huawei also began to engage in a high-price strategy, consumers were more likely to mumble in their hearts and feel that something was wrong.
● Source: Internet
In addition to brand influence, consumer psychological expectations are also the key factors that trigger this phenomenon.
With the strong foundation of brand influence and consumer loyalty accumulated over a long period of time, Apple has successfully established a consumption concept of "high quality corresponds to high price".
When consumers buy Apple products, they usually have certain psychological expectations about the price level, and regard this price as a symbol of the product's excellent quality and noble status.
In fact, it is good to say that it is the brand effect, and if it is not good, it is the IQ tax.
epilogue
In the mobile phone track, in terms of shipments, Honor, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo all ranked among the top in China's market share in the first quarter, while Apple almost fell out of the top five.
●Source: IDC China Quarterly Mobile Phone Market Tracker
Some people may say that the reason why they can't make a high price is purely because they don't have the ability.
According to data released by Huawei, R&D investment in 2023 will reach 164.7 billion yuan.
In the first quarter of this year, Huawei's R&D expenses reached 41.587 billion yuan, an increase of 13.8% compared with 36.542 billion yuan in the first quarter of last year.
When Huawei's mobile phones and other products enter overseas markets, their confidence not only comes from the breakthrough of technological "bottlenecks", but also benefits from the substantial increase in economic strength.
Thinking back to five years ago, Huawei was subjected to various technical blockades and restrictions, and now it has returned to the market and chose to hold a press conference on the same day as Apple.
Sure enough, what "kills" Huawei is destined to make Huawei stronger.