Apple's New IPhone Sales in China Jump 20% in First 3 Weeks

FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
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Apple's New IPhone Sales in China Jump 20% in First 3 Weeks

FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Apple Inc's new iPhones got off to a strong start in China, with their sales rising 20% in their first three weeks since their launch compared with its 2023 model, according to data from research firm Counterpoint.
Both Apple and Huawei's latest smartphones went on sale in China on Sept. 20, underscoring intensifying competition in the world's biggest smartphone market where the US firm has been losing market share in recent quarters to domestic rivals, Reuters said.
"We're seeing strong iPhone 16 series unit sales in China," Counterpoint said, adding the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models were doing particularly well, with their combined sales rising 44% compared with their equivalent 2023 versions.
Overall iPhone unit sales in China, however, dropped 2% year on year during the three-week period because of decreased sales of older models and increased competition with Huawei's Mate and Pura series, it said.



Apple Launches New iPad Mini with AI Features

A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Apple Launches New iPad Mini with AI Features

A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Apple on Tuesday launched its new generation of the iPad mini packed with AI features including writing tools and an improved Siri assistant, as the iPhone maker races to boost its devices with artificial-intelligence capabilities.

The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip, which is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. With a six-core central processing unit, the A17 Pro would boost CPU performance by 30% compared to the current generation iPad minis and is central to running Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI software.

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the US version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

The features will be available for iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later generations, Apple said, adding it will roll out additional features including image-generation tools, Genmoji and ChatGPT-powered capabilities over the next several months.

Apple in September unveiled its long-awaited, AI-boosted iPhone 16 lineup, but with the AI features still in test mode, the company failed to excite some investors while early sales data raised some questions around demand.

Still, research firm Canalys on Monday said the iPhone 16 would help Apple's sales in the fourth quarter and drive momentum into the first half of 2025, after Apple reached a record high third-quarter shipments.

The iPad mini, starting at $499, is available for pre-orders starting on Tuesday and will begin arriving to customers and Apple store locations next week, Apple said.