Eighteen months. That’s how long Apple made us wait for a new iPad. It felt like forever! But finally, yesterday, the wait was over. Apple held its special event, and in a whirlwind 38 minutes, they unveiled new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Airs, M4-powered iPad Pros, and a suite of creative tools like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and a new Apple Pencil.
This wasn’t your typical Apple event. Besides the constant buzz about AI, the timing was a big change. They kicked things off at 7:00 am Pacific Time, a full three hours earlier than usual. It definitely felt like a nod towards us in China, especially after Apple’s recent struggles here. Their second-quarter results weren’t pretty – a 13% drop in revenue in Greater China. That stings.
So, is this Apple’s way of winning back our hearts? Will this charm offensive work?
The star of the show was undoubtedly the iPad Pro. The new M4 chip is a beast! It’s built on a 3nm process, packs a mind-blowing 28 billion transistors, and boasts a new display engine. Apple claims the CPU is 50% faster than the M2, while the 10-core GPU delivers 4x the rendering performance. It’s a powerhouse, capable of a staggering 38 trillion operations per second. That’s 60 times faster than the A11 chip!
Of course, this power comes at a price. The 11-inch model starts at a hefty 8999 yuan, and the 13-inch jumps to 11499 yuan. Apple even bragged about it being the thinnest Apple product ever.
The new iPad Air got some love too, with both 11-inch and 13-inch versions. They’ve got the M2 chip now, along with some AI tricks, but the upgrades felt a bit underwhelming. Prices start at 599 USD for the 11-inch and 799 USD for the 13-inch.
But here’s the thing: the iPad has been losing ground. Canalys reports that global tablet shipments finally started growing again in the first quarter of 2024, up 1% to 33.7 million units. Apple still leads the pack with 12 million units sold, but that’s a 13.9% drop compared to last year. Meanwhile, Huawei is on fire. They’re now in third place, shipping 2.7 million units, a whopping 70% increase. It feels like Huawei is snatching up the market share that Apple is losing.
This isn’t just about tablets. Apple has been feeling the heat from Chinese brands across the board. TechInsights says that OPPO and OnePlus now lead the Chinese smartphone market with a 17.1% share. Honor, Huawei, and vivo are hot on their heels. And Apple? They’ve dropped out of the top five with just a 13.7% share. Ouch.
Apple’s second-quarter results tell the story. Revenue in Greater China plummeted 13%. It’s their worst performance in the region since 2020. It feels like Apple is struggling to connect with Chinese consumers. We want phones that just work, with great signal and solid customer service. Chinese brands are nailing this, while Apple seems out of touch.
Apple is betting big on AI now, especially smaller, on-device models. They’re touting the M4 chip’s neural engine, claiming it outperforms any AI PC. But can they really compete with other phone makers who are already packing powerful on-device AI into their latest models?
It’s a tough challenge. Apple needs to prove they can build amazing AI features that respect our privacy and comply with local regulations. They’ve got their work cut out for them. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Can they really win us back?
I’m not sure. But I’m rooting for them. Maybe this time, they’ll really listen to what Chinese consumers want. Maybe this is the start of something new. We’ll see.