So here comes iPhone X and iPhone 8, but none of them comes with real surprise other than making Apple’s smartphone lineup more complex than ever. Media outlets in China are also not so optimistic about the new model’s future, jokingly calling the iPhone X “a smartphone with hair bangs.” Here’s what China’s media are talking about the new iPhone lineup.
The Paper reports that the iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone in history but the Face ID and the Animoji features deserve some applause. The state-owned media Huanqiu reports that it’s complicated for consumers to choose from Apple’s lineup of eight different smartphone products, which may have gone off course from Steve Job’s principle “less is more.”
Huanqiu also suggests that Apple had led the smartphone innovation trend in the past, where the firm would announce some cutting-edge design which would inspire the industry until its big action the next year. However, over the past two years, Apple’s products seemingly see some lack of innovation. In general, Apple this time only shows off its Face ID and full-screen display technology and doesn’t show the world any significant breakthrough, Huanqiu suggests.
In addition, with Xiaomi launching this Monday its Mi Mix 2 that comes with a full-screen display, it’s fair to say that the era of “full-screen display” is here. Now, the iPhone X is equipped with pretty much the same type of display.
Huxiu, a Chinese media outlet, reports that both Apple and Xiaomi are playing with full-screen display setup and it’s the consumer’s decision to go with “bangs” or “a chin.” People in the industry are saying that Mi Mix 2 is like a smartphone coming with a chin, given its narrow bezel on the bottom of the phone body.
While the new iPhones will only be available weeks after the launch event, the scalpers are seeing some great opportunities to make a profit out of this. Local media reports that the pricing for a latest iPhone from a scalper might go over RMB 20,000 (roughly $3062). The high price tag of the iPhone X is indeed a legitimate concern for Chinese consumers, where local media are reporting that the new iPhone lineup comes with no surprise but the Face ID and the high price tag.
In fact, after Xiaomi announced Mi Mix last year, smartphones with full-screen displays has seemingly become the new fad, Huanqiu reports. Aside from Xiaomi, smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, Vivo, and Nubia are going to release their new models that come with full-screen displays. Samsung S8 has added in the facial recognition technique, and Vivo will equip its upcoming X20, which will be released in a few weeks, with the same technique, according to local media.