November 26, SHENZHEN, China In a clear divergence from American technology, Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies debuted its Mate 70 smartphone series on Tuesday, enhancing its luxury smartphone return and exhibiting its own operating system.
After its company was severely impacted by U.S. export restrictions, Huawei’s return to high-end smartphones in rivalry with Apple (AAPL.O) is largely regarded as the Mate 70, the successor to the Mate 60 series that was introduced in August of last year.
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According to Yu, Mate 70 would start at 5,499 yuan ($758). In China, the entry-level iPhone 16 model costs 5,999 yuan.
The Mate 70, according to Yu, is the first widely available smartphone with a satellite paging system. It also has an upgraded CPU and runs Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS Next operating system, all of which increase performance by 40% over earlier versions.
A big milestone in Huawei’s drive for software independence since U.S. restrictions shut off its access to Google services in 2019, the Mate 70 series marks the first substantial commercial release of the HarmonyOS NEXT.
The HarmonyOS NEXT, which started public testing this year, is a total departure from Android, although Huawei’s previous Harmony OS versions retained Android compatibility.
With intentions to reach 100,000 apps in the upcoming months, Huawei said last week that it has acquired over 15,000 apps for its HarmonyOS ecosystem.
Huawei (HWT.UL) hasn’t verified this, though. It normally doesn’t talk up its chip innovations at product launch ceremonies; teardown companies frequently find enhancements afterward.
Despite production issues that might limit them to higher-end models, at least some Mate 70 models will use Huawei’s Kirin 9100 chipset, which is manufactured by leading Chinese contract chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (0981.HK), opens new tab (SMIC).
When asked about the chip, Huawei did not immediately reply.
China is the largest smartphone market in the world, and the patriotic emotion around Huawei’s technical innovation has fueled its market recovery and increased rivalry with other competitors, notably iPhone manufacturer Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab.
According to research company Canalys, Huawei was the second-largest supplier of smartphones in China in the third quarter of 2024, with deliveries surpassing 10 million units for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Compared to the second quarter of 2022, when it delivered only 4.1 million devices, this represents a notable recovery.
According to research company Counterpoint, more than 10 million Mate 70 series shipments are anticipated.
$1 is equivalent to 7.2586 Chinese yuan renminbi.