The industrial chain quietly "changes", Huawei and Apple press conferences crash again
As global technology giants, every new product launch by Apple and Huawei attracts much attention. On May 7, the new product launch conferences of the two giants came unexpectedly and attracted global attention.
Apple launched new iPads and other hardware products, and Huawei also held an innovative product launch conference in Dubai, launching new wearable devices, PC tablets and other smart terminals as well as self-developed software. This "technology battle" between the two parties has added a strong smell of gunpowder to the fiercely competitive high-end intelligent terminal market.
"Judging from the actions of the two giants, the competition in smart terminal technology radiates from the domestic market to the world, focusing on the full platform layout from terminals, chips to operating systems. AI and other aspects are the direction of the giants' efforts and competition." Capital Enterprise Reform and Xiao Xu, director of the Development Research Association, said in an interview with a reporter from Securities Daily.
In this "showdown", the focus of the competition between Apple and Huawei is on tablets, smart wearable products and accessories, and continuous innovation and breakthroughs around new software and hardware technologies such as operating systems.
This time, Apple launched new iPad Pro and smart stylus and other new products. In addition, according to public information, Apple is developing its own AI chips and foldable screen mobile phones. Apple CEO Cook also recently stated that Apple is making major investments in the field of generative artificial intelligence.
"Apple's new product launch mainly focuses on iPad and other terminals that have not been updated in two years." Li Xuan, a senior analyst in the technology industry at Haitong Securities, said in an interview with a reporter from Securities Daily.
Huawei also brought new wearable devices, a new MateBook series of laptops, and a MatePad series of tablets. Some of the new products have been released domestically before, and this time they are mainly targeted at overseas markets. It is worth noting that Huawei also released a new self-developed tablet drawing software for the first time - "Born to Draw App".
"Huawei chose to hold a press conference on the same day as Apple to face the competition head-on, demonstrating its strong market confidence and competitiveness. It will also compete hand-to-hand with Apple in fields such as tablets. In comparison, Huawei has launched more comprehensive new software and hardware products. It can be seen that domestic companies not only continue to break through technological bottlenecks through independent research and development and innovation, but also pay more attention to the full ecological layout," Yang Siliang, a partner of Zhou Yuan Consulting, told a reporter from Securities Daily.
In fact, the press conferences between the two parties have "collided" many times before. The two giants "confronted" across the air. The focus of the competition covered multiple categories such as mobile phones, tablets, and smart wearables. The technical competition direction extended from battery life, cameras, satellite communications to AI.
Domestic terminal companies, represented by Huawei, have been actively "going global" in recent years and frequently compete with "top experts" in the technology industry in the global market. Its confidence comes from its strong independent research and development technology advantages and the gradual maturity of ecological deployment.
Judging from the performance of new products in the market, Huawei has performed well both in terms of innovation capabilities and sales. As far as tablets are concerned, a recent report released by market research organization IDC shows that although Apple ranked first in global tablet shipments in the first quarter of 2024, sales fell by 8.5 percentage points year-on-year. Huawei's shipments ranked third, but its shipments and market share increased by 43.6 percentage points and 2.8 percentage points year-on-year respectively, which was a relatively large increase.
In addition, Huawei’s smartphone sales are gaining momentum. According to Canalys data, from the domestic market, in the first quarter of 2024, Huawei mobile phone shipments were 11.7 million units, occupying 17% of the market share, ranking first. Apple’s mobile phone shipments were 10 million units, occupying 15% of the market share, ranking fifth.
"Domestic leading consumer electronics companies are not afraid of competition from global giants. They already have the ability to 'make waves' in the global market and have achieved leadership in some technologies." Li Xuan said.
As technology terminal giants continue to change their playstyles and innovation directions, listed companies in the industrial chain are also accelerating their transformation of layout routes and actively adapting to new needs.
In the past, many companies relied mainly on orders from Apple to survive, forming a "fruit chain." However, with the rise of Chinese companies such as Huawei, the industrial chain has begun to "change." More and more companies are turning their focus to domestic consumer electronics companies such as Huawei to seek new cooperation opportunities and development space.
For example, after OFILM, which has the label of "Fruit Chain", switched to Huawei's industrial chain and became the "main supplier" of modules, its revenue and performance increased. King Long Electromechanical and Tianma Microelectronics were also suppliers of Apple's linear motors. After supplying to domestic companies such as Huawei, they shared risks and increased profits.
Huawei's terminal supply chain has achieved a high degree of localization. In order to cope with the growing demand from domestic terminal enterprises, many industry chain manufacturers have begun to increase production capacity, add production lines, and expand scale. At present, in addition to supplying Apple, companies such as Luxshare Precision and Guanghong Technology are also suppliers of Chinese brands such as Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi.
At the same time, more and more suppliers of components, chips, etc. are paying more attention to domestic mobile phone terminal manufacturers and providing them with customized solutions.
"As the sales of terminal products of domestic consumer electronics companies such as Huawei gradually increase and accelerate their impact on the high-end market, various links in the industry chain such as chips, screens, and modules will continue to benefit, and the profits of related manufacturers are also expected to increase. The localization of the industry chain will have It will help enhance the ability of independent control, joint innovation, cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and will also continue to enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of my country's science and technology ecosystem in the global market. Industrial chain companies should avoid the risks caused by over-reliance on large customers and carry out forward-looking innovation. And transform and upgrade in a timely manner," Xiao Xu said.
