The new lineup is set to debut in November, with Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei’s consumer business group, declaring in a Weibo post on Monday that it will be “the most powerful Mate in history.” However, the post did not provide further details regarding the launch.
The industry is closely monitoring the release of these smartphones, as they follow last year’s Mate 60 series, which was introduced in August 2023 and featured an advanced processor entirely manufactured in China. The Mate 60, equipped with a 7-nanometre chip from Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), sparked a wave of national pride and helped revitalize Huawei’s declining smartphone sales.
The Mate 70 series is anticipated to run on HarmonyOS 5.0, formerly known as HarmonyOS Next, which is Huawei’s proprietary mobile operating system that no longer supports Android-based applications. Yu’s announcement aligns with a prior report regarding the launch date of the Mate 70. Huawei is gearing up for increased sales of its new premium series, with component orders rising by 50 percent compared to those for the Mate 60, according to a supply chain source. The company has prepared over 1 million units of the Mate 70 for the upcoming launch.
The introduction of the Mate 70 series is expected to further strengthen Huawei’s position, as the company previously surpassed Samsung Electronics and Apple in global smartphone shipments before facing challenges due to US sanctions. This launch is part of Huawei’s strategy to regain its footing in the competitive premium smartphone market, particularly in the world’s largest smartphone arena.
Huawei's smartphone shipments in the mainland during the third quarter increased by 42 percent year-on-year, capturing 15.3 percent of the market share, placing it behind market leader Vivo and second-place Apple, as reported by IDC last month. The introduction of the Mate 60 and the subsequent Pura 70 series has reestablished the company among the leading Chinese Android brands.
In August, Huawei's smartphone sales on the mainland exceeded those of Apple for the first time in 46 months, according to a report from research firm CINNO.
The privately-owned company announced a 29.5 percent rise in revenue, reaching 585.9 billion yuan (approximately US$82.3 billion) in the first three quarters of 2024, compared to 452.3 billion yuan during the same timeframe last year, as reported by Huawei last week.