The Mate 70 series includes the 6.7-inch Mate 70, 6.9-inch Mate 70 Pro, 6.9-inch Mate 70 Pro+, and 6.9-inch Mate 70 Pro RS. The starting price of the device is 4,499 yuan (VND 15.7 million).

Similar to the Mate 60 launched in 2023, the chip used on the Mate 70 continues to be a mystery as Huawei still did not say a word at the event on November 26. Richard Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei's consumer division, was present on stage to introduce the new line.

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Richard Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei's consumer division, announces the Mate 70 series at an event on November 26 in Shenzhen, China. Photo: Weibo

He called the Mate 70 series “the most powerful Mate phones ever,” without mentioning the processor inside. Instead, he highlighted the HarmonyOS Next operating system, which offers 40% better performance than the chip in the Mate 60. HarmonyOS Next is Huawei’s “homegrown” platform, completely separate from Android.

The Chinese company also promotes its latest AI features like improved image quality, manual control.

The Mate 70 launch is being closely watched by the tech world for any evidence of China’s progress in semiconductor manufacturing. The Mate 60’s chips are said to be manufactured by the country’s largest foundry, SMIC, using a 7nm process.

The US embargo on Huawei and SMIC has prevented the two companies from accessing cutting-edge semiconductor technology. As a result, while rivals like Apple are preparing to move to 2nm technology, the Chinese technology “flagship” is still struggling with 7nm.

The Mate 60 sparked a wave of patriotic consumerism in China, helping to revive Huawei’s struggling smartphone business, allowing it to take on Apple and local rivals like Xiaomi. The Pura 70 series, which followed, also used 7nm chips, returning Huawei to the ranks of the country’s top Android brands.

According to research firm Counterpoint, Mate 70 sales are expected to exceed 10 million units over its lifetime, marking another important milestone for Huawei.

When Huawei started taking pre-orders for the Mate 70 on its online store, more than 3.2 million people signed up to buy it, but no deposit was required. The Mate 70 officially went on sale on December 4.

Still according to Counterpoint, Huawei's global sales in the first three quarters of 2024 increased by 51% compared to the same period in 2023, 90% coming from the mainland.

Counterpoint analysts Mengmeng Zhang and Archie Zhang said that by not supporting Android apps, Huawei can optimize HarmonyOS by focusing 100% of its efforts on maximizing the performance of Kirin chips, providing a stable user experience, and accelerating the integration of cloud and on-device AI systems, similar to what Apple is doing with iOS.

Still, the company needs time to expand the developer community and build a competitive ecosystem for HarmonyOS. Huawei said that starting in 2025, its new smartphones and tablets will stop using open-source Android technology.

In addition to the Mate 70 series, Huawei also announced a number of other products such as a new tablet, a gold-plated smartwatch priced at 23,999 yuan. In early fall, the company introduced the world's first tri-fold smartphone, also using its own chip.

(According to SCMP, Bloomberg)