Huawei Ad Teases 'The Real AI Phone', Mocks Facial Recognition in Clear Dig at Apple - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Huawei Ad Teases 'The Real AI Phone', Mocks Facial Recognition in Clear Dig at Apple

by

Chinese mobile maker Huawei has taken to trolling Apple in a new Facebook ad that pokes fun at the iPhone X's neural engine and urges people to wait for "the real AI phone" – a reference to its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Mate 10, set to debut next month.

The short ad takes aim at Apple's Face ID feature on the new iPhone X, and uses a jaunty clown emoji animation on a smartphone display to imply that unlocking the device using facial authentication is prone to failure.

huawei apple troll
The tagline accompanying the ad reads, "Let's face it, facial recognition isn't for everyone. Unlock the future with #TheRealAIPhone. 16.10.2017". Apple famously had to defend itself against doubts about Face ID after a live onstage demo of the technology appeared to backfire.

As reported previously, Huawei's Mate 10 is the first phone in the company's line-up to feature the Kirin 970 AI mobile chipset, which has a built-in neural processing unit that utilizes machine learning, making it "20 times faster" than a traditional processor, according to the company.

The Kirin 970 is based on the same 10-nanometer technology as Apple's latest A11 Bionic processor found in the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Like the A11, the new Huawei chip is also said to be more energy efficient, especially when it comes to handling AI-related functions such as image and voice recognition.

Huawei surpassed Apple’s global smartphone sales for the first time in June and July, according to analysis by consulting firm Counterpoint Research, overtaking the U.S. tech giant as the world's second biggest smartphone brand. This appears to have boosted the Chinese mobile maker's confidence that its Mate 10 is the genuine frontrunner to rival Apple's $999 smartphone, particularly in a Chinese market dominated by inexpensive, high-spec alternatives.

Tags: China, Huawei
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

MacDawg Avatar
113 months ago
Who’s Huawei?
I've been to Huawei, nice place... lovely beaches
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
113 months ago
If animated emojis are the main feature of the phone, then its a sad day for apple products.

apple as cool when Jobs was running it now we get this???
Ahem...

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jsmith189 Avatar
113 months ago
I mean, if they’re gonna dig, at least dig at an actual failure.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spiderman0616 Avatar
113 months ago
If animated emojis are the main feature of the phone, then its a sad day for apple products.

apple as cool when Jobs was running it now we get this???
You may or may not be the target audience for animojis, but they are going to be a big deal, especially once more and more of them are added. And I don't remember anyone from Apple saying "Animojis are the main feature of the new iPhone."

Steve Jobs is dead. Stop dragging his corpse out every time Apple does something you don't agree with.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Red Oak Avatar
113 months ago
Is'nt this the company that was banned from the US router business because of Chinese spying?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maflynn Avatar
113 months ago
Aniemoji is going to be great. Can't wait to test it out.

Edit :- iPhone X is packed with so much advanced technology. It's going to be a mile stone for future iPhone generations
If animated emojis are the main feature of the phone, then its a sad day for apple products.

apple as cool when Jobs was running it now we get this???


Attachment Image
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Leads Top Brands for China Smartphone Growth as Market Declines

Friday April 17, 2026 8:03 am PDT by
China's smartphone shipments fell 4% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Counterpoint Research, with Apple delivering the strongest growth among the top six brands. Counterpoint's Market Monitor Tracker attributed the decline primarily to a high base effect from last year's government subsidy program and rising component costs. Counterpoint noted that...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple Apparently Sees Camera Control as Key Foldable iPhone Feature

Monday April 20, 2026 7:40 am PDT by
Apple's first foldable iPhone will be eSIM only and feature a Camera Control despite its ultra-thin design, according to a known leaker. In a series of new posts, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" said that Apple has made deliberate engineering compromises to ensure that the first foldable iPhone features a Camera Control button, despite it being at least 1.1mm thinner than the iPhone...
huawei pura x max

New Huawei Foldable Looks a Lot Like Apple's Rumored iPhone Fold

Monday April 13, 2026 4:47 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone is expected to feature a book-style form factor that's relatively uncommon in the foldables market, but Huawei's new Pura X Max appears to share a similar wide aspect ratio. Set to be released in China next week, Huawei's new device actually builds upon a design used by the original, smaller Pura X, which was marketed last year as an extra-wide flip phone....
Related Apple News: Health | South Africa | Politics | Travel | Reviews