The new flagship branch of Apple in Beijing Photo:Zhang Dan/GT

 
More than 120,000 Chinese netizens said they want to purchase an iPhone 12 after Apple announced the date of its second launch event this fall on October 14 (Beijing time). It is believed that Apple will unveil its 5G-capable iPhone 12 smartphone at the event. 

A flash poll conducted by domestic news outlet National Business Daily on Wednesday showed that 75,000 netizens said that they will buy the new iPhone 12, which will come in four models. 

Another 49,000 said they will consider a purchase, putting the number of those who will or will consider to buy the phone at over 120,000 on the day Apple officially announced its release date. But an equally large number of netizens – 117,000 -- said they will not buy, with many preferring a Huawei flagship smartphone, despite a ruthless US crackdown on the company’s rapid success.

Apple caused a certain degree of disappointment when it skipped the iPhone release at its mid-September event, and the announcement on Wednesday has sent Apple-related shares at the Hong Kong bourse to rise.

Hong Kong-listed Chinese camera module maker Sunny Optical saw its shares up 5.1 percent on Wednesday, while shares of AAC Technologies, which makes miniaturized components used in Apple products, rose 3.33 percent.

Samsung and Huawei accounted for 20 percent of global shipments during the second quarter, according to a report by gsmarena.com, citing IDC data. Apple landed in third with 13.5 percent of the market share. 

However, Huawei captured 42.6 percent of the surging Chinese market, which is also key to Apple’s performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Many Chinese netizens said that domestic smartphone brands are rolling out increasingly competitive models, and some expect the Huawei Mate 40 series, which will be released soon. 

“I will only buy an iPhone 12 if it is more price competitive than Huawei’s Mate series,” one netizen said. 

Huawei is among those being targeted by the Trump Administration in its tech crackdown, which has also hit ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, and Tencent, with its WeChat messaging services. 

Global Times