Apple is experiencing a Samsung-like fate in China. Despite bringing huge discounts, iPhone sales continue to decline in the world’s biggest smartphone market. Is China becoming a no-go zone for non-Chinese tech giants such as Apple and Samsung?

The iPhone maker announced exciting discounts in the Chinese smartphone market. However, the company’s shipments declined in the second quarter of the year given the intensifying competition with local companies including Huawei.

Huawei’s ban led Samsung to face a severe drop in the Chinese market. The local government pushed China-based brands to evolve further. Citizens also supported the local brands even after having tech giants like Samsung and Apple.

While Samsung’s market has almost died, things are also tough for Apple. Market research firm Canalys recently reported that the Apple iPhone shipments totaled 9.7 million, down 6.7% from 10.4 million in the same period last year.

Huawei’s shipments during the same period increased by 41% year-on-year to 10.6 million units. It seems that the sales volume increased due to the popularity of the company’s newly released smartphones under the Pura 70 series.

China’s smartphone shipments rose 10% in the second quarter. Vivo came in first with 19%, Oppo second with 16%, and Honor and Huawei third with 15% each. As a result, Apple’s ranking in the Chinese smartphone market fell from 3rd to 6th.

Industry experts believe that Huawei will enjoy strong sales for the rest of the year. TechInsights predicted that Huawei’s total shipments will exceed 50 million units this year, with 10 million of them being the Pura 70 series.

HarmonyOS Next aims to completely ditch Android from its mobile segment. It shows Huawei has no desire to readopt the Android operating system. Chinese vendors are also innovating technologies to develop mobile semiconductors.

After OLED, Samsung is entering Apple’s CIS supply chain. Ming-Chi Kuo today revealed that Samsung could start shipping 48MP camera for Apple iPhone models as early as 2026. It’s a big blow to Apple’s conventional image supplier, Sony.

For years, Sony has dominated Apple’s iPhone camera supply chain. The entry of Samsung in the Apple iPhone 48MP camera supply is certain in early 2026. The source mentioned that Samsung had to form a dedicated team to serve Apple.

As Samsung’s supply could start in 2026, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 may still use Sony sensors. As the Korean tech giant preps for supply, Apple may have considered completing its agreement/contract with Sony for the iPhone camera.

Ming-Chi Kuo’s article reads:

• Samsung is expected to begin shipping 1/2.6-inch 48MP ultra-wide CMOS image sensors (CIS) to Apple for iPhones as early as 2026, breaking Sony’s years-long monopoly on supplying CIS to Apple. To this end, Samsung has established a dedicated team to serve Apple.

The gap of nearly two years would result in some changes in camera supply. The iPhone maker may also opt for a multi-vendor strategy to freeze prices. Having more than a single supply chain partner empowers the manufacturer during price negotiation.

Kuo notes that Samsung will supply a 1/2.6-inch image sensor for iPhone. The product will have a 48-megapixel resolution. It will likely be used as an ultra-wide camera in future iPhones, while others will still be from Sony.

Samsung announced its most anticipated foldable phones on July 10 in Paris. Yesterday, Honor launched the new Magic V3, which challenges the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with a thinner design and some cool specs. The new Honor foldable is considerably thin compared to the phones available.

Honor’s new Magic V3 measures 9.2mm (camera bump not included) in its folded state. It goes further slimmer to 4.35mm when you unfold its 7.92-inch main screen. Oops, there’s a clearly visible hole for the camera on the inner display, with Galaxy Z Fold 6 featuring UDC for years.

The Chinese vendor managed to make its new foldable slimmer with an upgraded hinge of 2.84mm thickness. It won’t break before 500,000 folds while the frame is made from 7-series aluminum alloy. It’s the most highlighting spec that makes it superior to its Samsung counterpart.

Samsung reduced the weight of the Z Fold 6 to 239 grams but the Magic V3 weighs just 226 grams. Honor also brought IPX8 water resistance to the Magic V3, making it the first in the lineup to feature official protection against water insertion.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 packs a 4400mAh battery, but Honor’s Magic V3 has an edge here too. It boasts a 5150mAh silicon-carbon battery with 66W wired and 50W wireless charging. Both devices use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, offering robust performance and efficiency.

Honor Magic V3 comes with a 6.43-inch LTPO cover screen with FHD+ resolution. It’s also rated for 2,500 nits peak brightness and supports stylus input. Notably, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 also supports S Pen input but on the inner panel only with a special pen crafted by Samsung.

In terms of optics, the Magic V3 features a 50MP primary with OIS, a 50MP Periscope with 3.5x optical zoom, and a 40MP ultrawide camera. The cover and main screens also house 20MP front-facing cameras. It lacks under-display camera technology which arrived 3rd time on a Samsung Fold.