Apple, Huawei go head-to-head in China smartphone promotions When Apple chief executive Tim Cook made three visits to mainland China last year, he reiterated the country's importance to the US tech giant during in a charm offensive that covered various meetings and official functions. “There’s no supply chain in the world that’s more critical to us than China,” Cook said in an interview with China Daily. What was left unsaid: competition in China, the world's smartphone market, had intensified amid Huawei Technologies' successful comeback in the 5G segment. Huawei's showed its revived confidence when its Mate XT trifold handset hit store shelves on the same day as the iPhone 16 last September. This weekend, Apple is offering mainland consumers fresh price cuts on iPhones in a four-day promotion, just days after Huawei slashed prices on a range of high-end models including the Pura 70 Ultra and the Mate X5 foldable smartphone. Cupertino, California-based Apple on Thursday announced a promotion running from January 4 to 7 that will provide a 500-yuan (US$68) discount on its latest premium models, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. A 400-yuan deduction will be offered for the basic iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models. Older handsets, including the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 series, will see up to a 300-yuan markdown. Huawei, meanwhile, offered an 18 per cent discount on its 1-terabyte Pura 70 Ultra. The handset's 512-gigabyte version is being sold at a steeper markdown of 20 per cent. The foldable Mate X5 is being offered at a 19 per cent discount. This model had been China’s top-selling foldable handset since its launch in September 2023, according to data from research firm CINNO. Apple’s promotion drew mixed reaction on Chinese social media, where it quickly became the top-trending topic on Thursday on popular microblogging site Weibo. While some Weibo users said the promotion offers a good opportunity to buy the latest iPhone 16 models, others complained that Apple’s discounts are not competitive enough when compared to the price cuts available on e-commerce platforms and those offered by Chinese rivals like Huawei. Apple’s iPhone 16 models were marked down by up to 1,600 yuan on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall platform during last quarter’s Singles’ Day shopping festival. Other online shopping platforms, including PDD Holdings -owned Pinduoduo, cut prices on the iPhone 16 series ahead of its domestic release on September 20. https://www.scmp.com/tech.. #Gadgets