Following speculations that the highly-anticipated Apple Intelligence will be launched along with the release of iOS 18.1 in late October, Chinese tech giant Huawei is now said to launch the country’s domestic mobile operating system, HarmonyOS Next, on Tuesday, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

Starting today, HarmonyOS Next will be available on Huawei’s Mate 60 series, the Mate X5 foldable smartphone, and the 13.2-inch MatePad Pro tablet, the report notes, suggesting that the home-grown mobile operating system of China is positioned as an alternative to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

It is worth noting that Huawei is promoting HarmonyOS Next as a fully independent operating system, which no longer supports Android-based applications, the South China Morning Post states.

HarmonyOS Next had made its debut among local developers earlier in January, the report states. In September, Chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group Richard Yu touted the system, saying that Huawei “covered the path of over a decade of foreign operating system ecosystem development in just one year.”

According to the report, Huawei rallied China’s app developers last month in preparation for the launch. Chinese tech giants like Baidu, JD.com, Meituan, and Tencent Holdings all gathered at the occasion. Citing information provided by Huawei, the report notes that over 10,000 apps and native services have been developed for HarmonyOS Next.

Huawei initially introduced HarmonyOS in August 2019 as an alternative to Android, shortly after the U.S. government placed the company on a trade blacklist in May of the same year, restricting its access to U.S. technologies without approval from Washington.

According to the report, HarmonyOS saw a surge in domestic adoption last year, fueled by Huawei’s re-entry into the 5G smartphone market with the launch of its Mate 60 series.

After the official release of HarmonyOS Next, the new Rotating CEO for the company, Sabrina Meng, will also oversee the launch of Huawei’s upcoming flagship 5G smartphone series, the Mate 70, slated for the fourth quarter, the report notes.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

While Apple launched iPhone 16 on September 10^th, the smartphone giant has not set up a specific date for the release of Apple Intelligence. Now, according to the latest report by Bloomberg, iPhone buyers would have to wait a few more weeks, as Apple Intelligence is expected to arrive on October 28^th.

The long-awaited function will be arriving then as part of the iOS 18.1 operating system, Bloomberg suggests.

The market had previously anticipated that the AI platform would be released in mid-October, according to another report by MoneyDJ. However, as Apple would like to take a more cautious approach to ensure that all major issues have been addressed, and that the increased traffic on its AI cloud servers can be adequately supported, the company has postponed the schedule a bit.

According to a previous report by Reuters, Apple Intelligence will first launch for U.S. English users, with other localized English versions set to follow in December. Additional language versions, including Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish, are anticipated for next year. However, it is worth noting that Apple has not yet announced an AI partner in China for the iPhone 16 series.

According to Apple’s official website, Apple Intelligence will only support devices with the built-in M1 or newer processors (such as iPad Air, iPad Pro, and Mac), as well as the 2023 iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro, but not the entry-level iPhone 15. Additionally, it is expected to be compatible with the upcoming iPhone SE, according to The Verge.

For more details, the report by Bloomberg notes that the initial release of Apple Intelligence will feature notification summaries, with later updates such as iOS 18.2 set to introduce ChatGPT integration and support for Genmoji custom emojis.

In March next year, iOS 18.4 will bring other enhancements to the Siri digital assistant, allowing it to manage applications with greater precision and utilize personal information to respond to inquiries, the report notes. Moreover, additional features following iOS 18.1 may include automated email filing in the Mail app and an Image Playground app for creating custom images, according to Bloomberg.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

Earlier in August, Foxconn announced the plan to expand its overseas investments, with the total amounting to roughly USD 840 million. Now the expansion plan seems to be more materialized, as the Taiwanese tech giant is reportedly evaluating an investment of around USD 1 billion to set up a smartphone display module assembly unit in Tamil Nadu, India, according to a report by The Economic Times, cited by Taiwanese media the Economic Daily News.

The blueprint, if it comes to fruition, would mark Foxconn’s first panel module assembly plant in India, which targets to supply Apple for its iPhone production, The Economic Times notes. Sources cited by the report note that Foxconn aims to have the facility “up and running as soon as possible,” though there has yet to be any specific timeline.

India has emerged as a crucial destination for tech giants seeking to diversify their supply chains away from China amid rising geopolitical tensions with the West. A previous report by BBC reveals that Google is set to manufacture Pixel smartphones at an existing Foxconn facility in India, which is also located in Tamil Nadu.

The new panel assembly business, therefore, is seen as a strategic move to streamline related processes for Foxconn.

In terms of the scale of the assembly unit, The Economic Times suggests that Foxconn has secured approximately 500,000 square feet at the ESR Oragadam Industrial & Logistics Park, adjacent to its smartphone assembly facility near Chennai in southern India.

It is worth noting that according to The Economic Times, Foxconn’s facility is expected to allow other contract manufacturers, such as Pegatron or Tata Electronics, to use the components locally produced, instead of importing pre-assembled modules from China.

Foxconn did not respond to The Economic Times’ request for comment on the 24^th.

An industry consultant cited by the report noted that having a manufacturer assemble panel modules in India matters a lot for the country, as India currently relies heavily on imports for its panel demand, which would further increase the total cost and supply chain complexity.

According to the report, around 60% to 65% of panel module imports come from China, followed by South Korea, which accounts for 20% to 25% of the imports.

In India, the largest smartphone panel module assemblers are TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology and India’s TXD. CSOT has been assembling panel modules for Samsung and Xiaomi, while TXD supplies Vivo and Oppo, the report says.

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(Photo credit: Foxconn)

The iPhone 16 series officially launches globally today, and according to MacMagazine, Apple has expanded production beyond China and India, with Foxconn now assembling iPhone 16 units in Brazil. This marks the first time a new Apple model is being produced in South America during its initial launch phase, which helps the company overcome Brazil’s steep import tariffs, boost sales, and mitigate potential supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions.

Brazilian regulatory filings confirm that Foxconn’s factory in Jundiaí, São Paulo, is mass-producing the iPhone 16.

MacMagazine reports that while Foxconn’s Brazilian plant has previously assembled iPhones, it mainly focused on older models. This time, for the first time, the factory is part of the assembly lineup for the new iPhone 16, though it’s only producing the basic model and not the higher-end Pro variants.

Supply chain sources cited by Economy Daily News indicate that previous models like the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 were also assembled in Brazil to avoid the country’s high import duties. However, these units were initially produced in China before being assembled in Brazil later in the product cycle. The iPhone 16, on the other hand, is being produced in Brazil much earlier, reflecting Apple’s ongoing efforts to diversify its supply chain and reduce its dependency on China.

Foxconn’s Brazilian facility is currently assembling only the base iPhone 16, not the iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max models. This is largely due to the high cost of iPhones in South America, where entry-level models tend to be more popular.

In contrast, this year marks the first time Apple has launched India-made iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models, a major milestone for both Apple and India’s manufacturing industry.

(Photo credit: Apple)

Huawei’s Mate XT, being the world’s first tri-fold smartphone, has created a buzz as it got over 4 million preorders even before the formal launch. However, the tech giant might not enjoy the monopoly for long. Citing a recent patent filing published by China’s State Intellectual Property Office, a report by Gizmochina notes that Xiaomi is also working on the technology.

Earlier In August, Weibo tipster “Smart Pikachu” also brought up Xiaomi’s progress on this new design, while rumors suggest that Xiaomi could release the tri-fold phone as early as 2025.

Gizmochina suggests that though the patent itself does not disclose the model name, it does reveal a design featuring a Z-shaped fold, which is similar to that of Huawei Mate XT.

To elaborate, the report notes that the model is equipped with a horizontally positioned rear camera island, which is narrower than that of the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4. The image shown in the patent application also suggests that the tri-fold phone will feature three rear cameras, compared to the four found on the Mix Fold 4 model.

According to Gizmochina, Xiaomi’s tri-fold device may be slightly thicker than the Huawei Mate XT, which has a 12.8mm thickness when folded. However, there’s still time for Xiaomi to refine the design, the report notes.

It is interesting to note that this isn’t the first time the market heard about Xiaomi’s ambition on a tri-fold phone, as related patents could be dated back to 2019, the report indicates. However, the latest patent features a completely new design with a dual inward folding mechanism, suggesting that Xiaomi has been exploring various possibilities and folding techniques for some time.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)