Apple's iPhone 15 drew mixed reactions in its third largest market of China on Wednesday.
Many online users liked its faster chip and improved gaming capabilities while others preferred Huawei's new smartphone.
Topics discussing the new launch attracted 380 million views on social media platform Weibo, with more than 800,000 discussions, including posts, comments and likes, on the iPhone 15.
Many cheered the iPhone 15 Pro's new 3 nanometer chip and Apple's pitch that console-quality games such as "Resident Evil 4 Remake", can be played on the device, appealing to China's army of mobile gamers.
But several social media users had misgivings about choosing an American brand over a domestically made rival, especially after state media applauded the roll out of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro earlier this month as a triumph by China over US sanctions.
A survey by Chinese news portal Sina on the social media platform asking participants if they would buy the Mate 60 or iPhone 15 saw 61,000 votes for the Huawei device versus 24,000 for the iPhone 15.
Comparisons of how the Mate 60 Pro could make calls and send texts via satellite, while the iPhone 15 was only capable of satellite texts, also generated significant discussion.
The company occupies a leading position in China's premium smartphone market, in part due to the decimation of Huawei Technologies' (HWT.UL) smartphone business by US export controls. (with inputs from Reuters)
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