Chinese phone brands eye high-end market with photography and AI features

Chinese smartphone vendors are continuing to expand in the high-end market, which will help them compete with rivals and improve profitability in a tough market environment.

Firms including Huawei and OPPO launched their spring flagship models this week with photography optimization, foldable screens and artificial intelligence features.

Huawei released its long-expected P60 smartphones with improved photography features on advanced aperture, camera-like control, telescopic lens, and excellent performance in dark environment.

Huawei P60 will begin sales next Wednesday with prices between 4,488 yuan (US$650) and 8,988 yuan.

Credit: Zhu Shenshen / SHINE

During a conference held in Shanghai on Thursday, Huawei's Terminal Business chief executive Richard Yu contrasted and ridiculed the performance of the iPhone. He also demonstrated a ChatGPT-like service, which helps users to search for photos in the P60 with voice commands.

Huawei also released a new foldable-screen model, MateX3, starting at 12,999 yuan.

Facing pandemic challenges, sluggish market demand and inflation, China's smartphone market sales will drop by 1.1 percent to 283 million units in 2023, but rebound to over 300 million units in 2024, with a growth of 6.2 percent, said International Data Corp or IDC.

Credit: Zhu Shenshen / SHINE

Also this week, OPPO released its Find X6 smartphones with photography improvements on ultra wide angle and telephoto lens. It helps users "easily cope with challenging shooting scenarios and achieve creative freedom," said Peter Liu, OPPO's senior vice president.

After halting for several years, this is the first time OPPO has begun to resell its Find models, which represents the company's top tech and innovation. In Find X6, its image engine can accurately calculate the correct relationship between light, subject and environment with AI.

The OPPO Find X6 models will begin sales on Friday, with prices between 5,999 and 6,999 yuan.

In 2022, domestic brands continued to claim the lion's share of the Chinese mobile phone market, with sales volume reaching 229 million units, amounting to 84.2 percent of total sales, according to researcher CAICT.

Honor, which kicks off Magic 5 internationally and domestically, now targets the world's high-end market in 2023, with expected overseas sales to double this year, Zhao Ming, Honor's president, said in Shanghai recently.