Why Apple’s Sinking in the World’s Biggest Mobile Market—Data Sheet

This is the web version of Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the top tech news. To get it delivered daily to your in-box, sign up here.

Apple’s newest iPhones sport faster processors, more cameras, and a lower price in the base models. But don’t count on those features to revive the company’s fortunes in the all-important China market, where customers don’t want to wait for 5G capability and already can choose from a wide array of cheaper, feature-packed handsets offered by Asian rivals.

The iPhone 11 launched Tuesday for about $50 less than last year’s base XR model. Many analysts interpreted the reduced price—the first time Apple has lowered the cost of a new generation of iPhones—as a deliberate effort to win back customers in China, where Apple has been losing market share to Huawei Technologies.

Until last year, Apple reigned supreme in China’s premium smartphone market. As the Nikkei Asia Review notes, in the first quarter of last year, iPhones accounted for over 80% of handsets sold in China in the $600-$800 price bracket. A year later, Apple’s share plunged to 37%. During that same period, Huawei’s market share soared to 48%, a five-fold increase.

That’s bad news for Apple, which counts on China for 17% of its global sales.

Patriotism may account for some of Huawei’s popularity, as the Shenzhen-based telecommunications giant has been caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China trade war. But many Chinese buyers insist Apple’s domestic rivals just offer better value.

And little wonder. As CNBC points out, Apple still expects consumers in China to pay a 10% to 23% price premium compared to U.S. consumers for the new generation of iPhones.

Meanwhile 5G functionality (and Apple’s lack of same) is a big deal in China. In the United States, many reviews of the new iPhones pooh-poohed the fact that this year’s iPhones didn’t offer 5G. Even in America’s largest cities, 5G won’t be widely available until next year at the earliest and Apple has never been on the cutting edge of new network technologies, they noted.

That sort of complacence doesn’t cut it with consumers in China, where the big three telecom providers are expected to roll out 5G networks in most major cities by the end of this year. Huawei unveiled its 5G smartphone in August. Xiaomi is expected to launch a 5G phone soon. And South Korea’s Samsung Electronics offered a 5G phone months ago.

Clay Chandler

On Twitter: @claychandler

Email: clay.chandler@fortune.com