iPhone 16 Release Met With Tepid Response, Domestic Flagship Phones Surpass? How Long Can Apple Hold On?

iPhone 16 Release Met With Tepid Response, Domestic Flagship Phones Surpass? How Long Can Apple Hold On?On September 10th, the iPhone 16 series was officially released, but compared to previous years, Apple's buzz this year has noticeably cooled down. The cheaper AirPods 4 and the A18 chip across the lineup, while considered highlights, essentially feel like "new wine in old bottles" - offering little novelty

iPhone 16 Release Met With Tepid Response, Domestic Flagship Phones Surpass? How Long Can Apple Hold On?

On September 10th, the iPhone 16 series was officially released, but compared to previous years, Apple's buzz this year has noticeably cooled down. The cheaper AirPods 4 and the A18 chip across the lineup, while considered highlights, essentially feel like "new wine in old bottles" - offering little novelty. The only truly new feature might be the "camera button," which, while showcasing a unique implementation in demos, holds limited appeal for non-photography enthusiasts.

However, the iPhone 16 series' launch still brought an unexpected impact. From the 10th onward, various exposure information about the next generation of Android flagship phones suddenly surged. Considering that the release dates of this year's Android flagship phones are mostly pushed forward to around October, marking the closest window ever to the iPhone's launch, this competition is set to be fiercer than ever. Faced with a strong challenge from Android flagships, Apple seems to lack a compelling strategy. Looking at the smartphone market share in the first half of 2023 and 2024, it's evident that, with the rise of domestic brands in the high-end market, iPhone's market share is shrinking significantly, even dropping out of the top five in the second quarter of 2024 - a rare occurrence. And this time, the pressure from domestic brands will be even greater.

Domestic Flagships Collectively Apply Pressure on Apple

Over the past two days, numerous details about the next generation of flagship phones have been revealed, the most crucial being the real-world benchmark scores of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Unlike previous tests, real-world benchmarks are more representative and closer to actual performance. The leaked benchmark data is for the OnePlus 13, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip. Geekbench 6 scores show a single-core score of 3236 and a multi-core score of 10049.

After the official launch of the iPhone 16 series, the Geekbench 6 benchmark scores for the A18 Pro were also updated. The latest results show a single-core score of 3409 and a multi-core score of 8492. Looking at the test scores, although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 lags behind by about 5% in single-core performance, its multi-core performance is nearly 20% higher. While the A18 Pro's single-core performance is unexpectedly impressive, it doesn't undermine the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4's overall advantage over the A18 Pro.

Fortunately, both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro this year use the A18 series chips. Although their GPU performance differs, CPU performance is essentially the same, providing some comfort to those considering the iPhone 16.

In reality, starting with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the flagship chips from Qualcomm and Apple have been very close in multi-core performance, with the single-core performance still being a significant difference. But with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 adopting a new architecture, the single-core performance gap has been reduced from nearly 30% to just 5%, with multi-core performance surpassing and leading the A18 Pro. The tide has turned.

Considering that the OnePlus 13 is still at least a month away from official release, there's room for further improvement in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4's benchmark scores. Through optimization, it's even possible for its single-core performance to match or even surpass the A18 chip.

There are several known phones equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, including the Xiaomi 15 series, iQOO 13 series, Find X8 Ultra, and more. These phones are already on par with the iPhone in terms of performance. Additionally, the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 is reportedly on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in terms of performance, meaning flagship phones like the Vivo X200 series using Dimensity chips can also compete with the iPhone in terms of performance.

As the saying goes, "Two hands are better than one," and the iPhone facing a barrage of domestic flagship phones may not have an easy time.

Beyond the Performance Surge, This Year's Domestic Flagship Phones Are Also Double-Downing on Features Like Screens and Imaging.

Based on information from Digital Chat Station, the Xiaomi 15 series will feature a larger pixel main camera across the lineup, along with a telephoto macro lens. This implies that even the standard version will exhibit impressive imaging capabilities.

Vivo has also brought out several new features. The Vivo X200 series will be equipped with a custom-designed super-large pixel Bluemap sensor and a Bluemap imaging chip, making it the first phone to support True-TCGHDR. Those who have watched the review of the Vivo X100 Ultra will likely have high expectations for this feature.

OPPO has gone as far as explicitly mentioning "attracting Apple fans." Aside from dual periscope lenses and a super-large pixel main camera, the OPPO Find X8 series also prepares features like magnetic wireless charging, virtual pressure-sensitive camera buttons, "Dynamic Island" notifications, and more, offering the closest peripheral experience to the iPhone.

From imaging to performance, domestic flagship phones are making a full-fledged assault, targeting iPhone's past strengths and making the iPhone's situation in the domestic market even more precarious.

The Rise and Fall: Can Domestic Flagships Defeat the iPhone?

The showdown between domestic flagship phones and the iPhone has been a constant topic, with discussions occurring almost every year after a new iPhone release. But in the past, debates often ended with "iPhone has better performance, and the system is more user-friendly," with hardly any other conclusions.

This year, however, is different. This year's domestic flagships not only match the iPhone 16 in performance, but also hold a system advantage. Taking the most popular AI features as an example, it has been confirmed that the Xiaomi 15 series and Vivo X200 series will be among the first phones to launch AI services. The iPhone 16 series' AI features, at the earliest, won't become available in China until next year, a time difference of at least three months that could change many things.

Furthermore, with the next generation of domestic flagships all adopting a combination of large and small screens, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro's small screen advantage has vanished, snatching away many users who previously chose Apple because of the phone's size.

Moreover, in terms of localized services, the experience provided by domestic phones is increasingly improving, even causing many users who switched to Android and tried to return to the iPhone to ultimately choose Android after experiencing the latest iOS system. As someone who uses both Android and iPhone, my primary phone has become Android. The localized system provides proactive features for delivery, travel, weather, and a whole host of other functionalities, offering a better experience than iOS' third-party functions. Besides, the wired/wireless fast charging of domestic flagships is another crucial factor that keeps me on Android. To be honest, I really don't want to be in a situation where I discover my phone is dead right before leaving home, only to be forced to make the choice of "taking a power bank" or "delaying my departure."

So, does the iPhone have absolutely no advantages? Of course not.

Even though the iPhone has been criticized for lacking innovation in recent years, it still lacks competition in some areas. For example, in video shooting, the iPhone is still the best phone in terms of experience. Whether it's live streaming or shooting video footage, the iPhone's experience is quite good. The ProRes video format supported by the iPhone 13 Pro and later enables high-quality video editing on the go when paired with a MacBook, a feature not yet available on other phones.

Besides video, the iOS ecosystem is also genuinely difficult to detach from, especially for long-time Apple users. Possessing AirPods, an iPad, a MacBook, an iPhone, and an Apple Watch creates a self-contained ecosystem that offers an experience currently unmatched by any other brand. Although other brands have made significant progress in intelligent ecosystems lately, none can offer the best products across various fields like smart wearables, PCs, and phones. Simply put, if you're looking for the best overall smart experience, Apple is still the best choice, but the purchase cost is not something everyone can afford.

In my opinion, the iPhone's advantages are dwindling. Video shooting is one, smart ecosystem is another. The former requires a Pro version of the iPhone, while the latter necessitates buying a multitude of Apple products a high barrier to entry that deters many consumers. This is why the iPhone is becoming increasingly difficult to sell in China, requiring price cuts and promotions to stimulate sales.

However, with domestic phones gradually maturing in their intelligent ecosystem layouts, Apple's remaining advantages are shrinking, posing unprecedented challenges. The future competitive landscape will no longer be the "Apple leads the trend, Android follows" scenario we've seen before; instead, domestic phones are surpassing Apple in various aspects.

Of course, I still hope Apple, under pressure, can come up with more innovative features and designs