Apple's iPhone 16 to Put AI Features in Focus, Huawei's New Phone Racks up Pre-orders

A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nicoco Chan/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nicoco Chan/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Apple's iPhone 16 to Put AI Features in Focus, Huawei's New Phone Racks up Pre-orders

A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nicoco Chan/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A visitor checks a mobile phone near the Huawei logo during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nicoco Chan/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Apple on Monday is set to unveil its iPhone 16, focusing on how its flagship device's features are infused with artificial intelligence, but it could be upstaged by a triple-folding smartphone released by China's Huawei hours earlier.

Apple's event at the tech giant's Apple Park headquarters starts at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT). Huawei has scheduled an announcement of its Mate XT phone just hours after the Apple presentation, Reuters reported.

The Chinese company's website showed on Monday that it had garnered more than 3 million pre-orders for its Z-shaped tri-fold phone. This underscores Huawei's ability to navigate US sanctions and solidifies its position against Apple in China, where consumers are hankering for more AI features and are willing to pay for them.

Apple shares were down 1.25% in morning trading.

"The Chinese market is hungrier for AI features than the US market," said Ben Bajarin, CEO and principal analyst at Creative Strategies. For Apple, "it will be very difficult to bring it to China immediately, so they'll be going off the merits of the hardware."

Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence at its developer conference in June, its take on generative AI that can conjure text, images and other content on command.

But these upgrades will take time to reach consumers.

Apple Intelligence features are expected to launch in a software update to the iPhone and iPad operating system likely in October and a full upgrade of Apple's voice assistant Siri is likely to come only early next year, according to media reports.

Apple Intelligence must be approved by Beijing in order to be released in the Chinese market. In July, OpenAI blocked access to ChatGPT in China, a move that could impact the chatbot's integration into Siri.

IPhones accounted for more than half of Apple's $383 billion sales last year, and the new devices are an important update for the Cupertino, California-based company that is betting the AI feature will drive consumers to upgrade amid a slowdown in iPhone sales.

In China, Apple aggressively slashed prices earlier this year, prompted by government restrictions and increased domestic competition.

The iPhone 16 lineup will be the first Apple smartphones designed around these AI features, though those will also be available on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the top-end versions of the previous-generation devices. New versions of the Apple Watch and AirPods are also expected.

"The software side, and how Apple frames it, is the biggest question," said Bajarin. "Investors will look for if it's compelling enough to have a larger-than-normal upgrade cycle."

Rivals including Alphabet's Google are also showcasing AI features to try to upend Apple's dominance in the high-end smartphone market.

Google, developer of the Android operating system which competes with Apple's iOS, traditionally announced its Pixel smartphones in the autumn. This year, it pushed the event to August ahead of Apple's announcement.

Google focused on AI features including Gemini Live, which allows users to hold live voice conversations with a digital assistant. Many of the AI features Google announced were also rolled out to the Android-based devices made by manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola.

"The question is who is going to be the first to combine a truly personal AI assistant with knowledge and information that is accurate and personalized," said Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst for TECHnalysis Research.

Apple has so far shared a timeline for the release of Apple Intelligence only in the United States, where it is slated to launch on compatible devices in the autumn.

In June, one week after its developer conference, Apple said it would delay the release in Europe due to European Union tech rules.



Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The State Department is warning US diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

One of the officials said the hoaxes had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated.” Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI warned in a public service announcement this past spring of a “malicious text and voice messaging campaign” in which unidentified “malicious actors” have been impersonating senior US government officials.

The scheme, according to the FBI, has relied on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior US official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

It is the second high-level Trump administration official to face such AI-driven impersonation.

The government was investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures received messages from someone impersonating President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Text messages and phone calls went out from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles, which may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said.