Huawei powerbanks handed out for free at the Apple store before the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max launch. (PHOTO: Abdul Rahman Azhari/Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Apple fans in Singapore waiting in line for the launch of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max had a pleasant surprise on Thursday night (20 September) after they received free powerbanks from one of Apple’s competitors, Huawei.

In a clever marketing strategy, representatives clad in Huawei t-shirts handed out the powerbanks to those in the queue at Apple’s flagship Orchard Road store.

The powerbanks’ packaging had these words which seem to take a dig at Apple’s new smartphones’ battery capacity: “Here’s a powerbank. You’ll need it. Courtesy of Huawei.”

Huawei’s flagship phone, the P2 Pro, has a battery capacity of 4,000mAh, whereas the battery capacities for iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are 2,658mAh and 3,174mAh respectively.



Justin Zheng, who had been in the queue since Thursday afternoon, felt that it was “very smart” of the smartphone maker to give out free powerbanks at a competitor’s phone launch.

“I think it’s very good marketing by Huawei to hijack Apple’s opening. It’s a very good move, and because we do need powerbanks,” said the self-employed 30-year-old.

As for whether he would ever consider using a Huawei phone in the future, Zheng said: “Maybe one day, when Apple has really screwed themselves up with their hardware, I may make the switch,” he added.

As for 17-year-old Shah Bahar, he felt that it was “kind” of Huawei to give powerbanks for free to Apple fans waiting in line.

“We had to wait about 24 hours and a lot of us were using phones while waiting. We ran out of battery and powerbank,” said the student.

However, he felt that this would not sway Apple fans to use Huawei phones.

“People come here to buy Apple. I’m not gonna jump out of the queue to buy a Huawei phone, but it (the effort by Huawei) is still good,” Shah said.

A long queue of some 350 people had already begun queuing outside the Apple store a day prior to the new phones’ release on Friday.

The cheaper iPhone XR will be available for pre-orders in Singapore on 19 October and will begin sales on 26 October.

Huawei will be revealing a range of new devices on 16 October, including the Mate 20 Series.

The company has pulled ahead of Apple as the smartphone manufacturer with the second most sales worldwide during 2018’s second quarter.

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