The Pro+ similarly emerged without the typical marketing and fanfare surrounding a major product launch. A brief teaser video posted to Huawei’s Weibo account showcased a device very similar to its lesser cousin, with the same outsized back-camera array.

The new devices have spurred an outpouring of nationalist sentiment on Chinese social media and were picked up by domestic news outlets that touted Huawei’s advances as a victory against sanctions.

Eoin Treacy's view

The big question many media outlets are pondering is why Xi Jinping stayed home from the G-20. Perhaps he has bigger concerns. The currency is at a new low, government bond yields are rebounding from their lows and the stock market is straining under the threat of a property sector mishap.
On top of that Huawei has released not one but two new phones which appear to bump up against chip sanctions. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) dropped sharply today which suggests investors are increasingly convinced the new chips are less a revolution and more an iteration in existing manufacturing processes.

Nevertheless, the big challenge for Apple is it could now be cast as the antithesis to Huawei in the domestic Chinese market. If championing domestic phones is seen as a badge of honour that is bad news for Apple.

The share failed to hold the initial rebound today and remains susceptible to additional weakness.