Coincidentally, Apple and Huawei released new products on the same day.
On October 31st at 8am, Apple released the M3 series of chips within half an hour, without releasing a new iPad. At 10 a.m., Huawei quietly released the Nova 11 SE, which is equipped with the Snapdragon 680 4G processor.
Previously, in August, Huawei released the Mate 60 series flagship phone with self-developed Kirin chips, while Apple released the iPhone 15 series flagship phone. However, the market indicates that Huawei's mobile phone market share has increased significantly, while Apple's iPhone 15 has had a difficult start and has also seen its first official price reduction.
Many analysts interviewed by Shell Finance generally believe that the sales situation of Apple's M2 chip equipped with laptops is not ideal, and Apple's early release of the M3 chip is aimed at boosting the notebook market. Huawei's release of Nova low-end phones is aimed at "clearing out previously stockpiled chips" and is expected to achieve a counterattack by Kirin chips.
Advance shipment of M3 chips or to save Mac shipments
At around 8 a.m., Apple held its second product launch event this autumn, which was also the shortest in history and lasted only about 30 minutes.
Apple has released M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips, as well as MacBook Pro and iMac equipped with the latest chips mentioned above. It is reported that all three chips are based on a 3-nanometer process. At the press conference, Cook and several Apple executives repeatedly emphasized that the M3 series chips adopt a new graphics processor architecture, which is 50% faster than the M1 series chips; The M3 Max integrates up to 16 core central processing units, 40 core graphics processors, and up to 128GB of unified memory.
On January 17, 2023, Apple launched two products equipped with the new M2 Max chip and M2 Pro chip, less than 10 months ago.
Analyst Guo Minghui, who has been tracking the Apple industry chain for many years, previously revealed that Apple believes that MacBook shipments will show a significant decline in 2023 due to limited upgrades to M2 chips. Therefore, even if the initial production of M3 processors is insufficient, Apple still decided to release them in advance to save sales.
Global communication industry analyst Ma Bo analyzed to reporters that Apple aims to alleviate the slowing trend of the Mac market with the launch of the M3 chip. This 3 nanometer M3 chip has achieved a qualitative leap in performance and image processing.
Ma Jihua, a senior analyst in the communication industry, told reporters that on the one hand, the sales situation of Apple's M2 chip equipped with laptops is not ideal, and he hopes to quickly reverse this situation. Secondly, he is also seizing the first mover advantage of the three nanometer chip.
According to research results from International Data Corporation (IDC), the global shipment volume of PC in the third quarter of 2023 was 68.2 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 7.6%. Among them, Apple's personal computer shipment volume decreased by 23.1% month on month, making it the largest manufacturer on the list.
Ma Jihua mentioned that Apple's M2 chip places too much emphasis on energy efficiency and neglects performance, which has caused dissatisfaction among some users, such as poor performance in complex applications or games. "Apple clearly hopes to upgrade the chip to improve this situation
Industry commentator Zhang Shule emphasized that "Apple is launching the M3 chip at this moment. Firstly, it is showcasing its muscle, especially its research and development capabilities at 3 nanometers. Secondly, it is conducting certain brand raids against ultra high-end and high-end products to ensure that the brand's position remains unshakable
The reporter noticed that in the context of the continuous popularity of artificial intelligence and large models, Apple particularly emphasized the advantages of new products in the development and training of artificial intelligence and other aspects. The enhanced 16 core neural network engine of the new product can help greatly accelerate various popular machine learning models.
Is Huawei Nova12 expected to adopt Kirin chips?
The online press conference of Huawei Nova 11 SE was very low-key, and Huawei stated that it did not invite any media.
Huawei's new nova 11 SE is equipped with the HarmonyOS 4 operating system, paired with the Snapdragon 680 4G processor, rather than the Kirin chip. Multiple insiders have analyzed that Huawei is clearing out previously stockpiled chips in the low-end market.
Ma Bo analyzed that in addition to considering "clearing out the previously stockpiled chips", Huawei is also sending a signal to the world that "Huawei is clearly expressing its attitude to the world: while conducting independent research and development, Huawei is willing to cooperate with other countries and enterprises to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results
The reporter also noticed that multiple figures in the digital industry have revealed that the upcoming Huawei Nova12 in November/December is expected to fully adopt Kirin chips, in order to seize the mid-range market. As of the press release, there has been no response from Huawei regarding this reporter's verification.
Ma Jihua analyzed, "Even though Huawei is able to produce 5G versions of mobile phones, its chip quantity and production capacity are currently unclear to the outside world, and (production capacity) should not be particularly large. Therefore, the supply of its Mate60 series still cannot keep up with market demand. In this case, it is not necessary to use this type of chip on Nova
On the other hand, Ma Jihua analyzed that from the perspective of brand differentiation, Huawei now needs to use its self-developed and self-produced 5G chips to maintain its Mate series, or the next P series, rather than using it on Nova. "Once used on Nova, the premium this chip brings to the product may be affected
In Ma Bo's view, Will Nova12 fully adopt Kirin chips in the future, and the initiative will be in Huawei's hands? If the US sanctions against Huawei become increasingly severe, using Kirin chips to expand market share and expand the domestic industry chain is an opportunity. If the US sanctions are relaxed, Huawei will only use Kirin chips in high-end series, maintaining cooperation between the Nova mid market and the world industry chain, so that all aspects of Huawei's chip project are closely related to the international market The difficulty of cooperation and R&D promotion will also be reduced
Zhang Shule analyzed that while Huawei is using foldable screens to enter the ultra high-end market and using Mates to recapture the mid to high-end market, while unlocking chips, it will inevitably return to the mid to low end market. It is also a strategy of differentiated competition with Apple, which has been deeply cultivating in the mid to high end and above fields.