The Mate 70 series includes the 6.7-inch Mate 70, the 6.9-inch Mate 70 Pro, the 6.9-inch Mate 70 Pro+, and the 6.9-inch Mate 70 Pro RS. The starting price for the devices is 4,499 RMB (approximately 15.7 million VND).

Similar to the Mate 60 launched in 2023, the chip used in the Mate 70 remains a mystery, as Huawei did not reveal anything at the event on November 26th. Richard Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei's consumer division, was present on stage to introduce the new series.

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

He called the Mate 70 series "the most powerful Mate phones in history" without mentioning the internal processor. 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 proprietary platform, completely separate from Android.

The Chinese company also promoted the latest AI features such as improved image quality and manual control.

The launch of the Mate 70 was closely watched by the tech community for any evidence of progress in Chinese semiconductor manufacturing. The chip in the Mate 60 was reportedly manufactured by the country's largest foundry – SMIC – using a 7nm process.

The US embargo against Huawei and SMIC has prevented the two companies from accessing cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. Therefore, while rivals like Apple are preparing to move to 2nm technology, China's leading technology company is still struggling with 7nm.

The Mate 60 sparked a wave of patriotic consumerism in China, helping to revive Huawei's struggling smartphone business and allowing it to compete with Apple and domestic rivals like Xiaomi. The Pura 70 series, launched later, also used 7nm chips, bringing Huawei back onto the list of top Android brands in the country.

According to research firm Counterpoint, Mate 70 sales are expected to surpass 10 million units throughout its lifespan, marking another significant milestone for Huawei.

When Huawei began accepting pre-orders for the Mate 70 on its online store, over 3.2 million people registered to buy it, although no deposit was required. The Mate 70 officially went on sale on December 4th.

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

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

However, the company still needs time to expand its developer community and build a competitive ecosystem for HarmonyOS. Huawei has stated that from 2025, its new smartphones and tablets will stop using open-source Android technology.

In addition to the four Mate 70 models, Huawei also announced several other products such as a new tablet and a gold-plated smartwatch priced at 23,999 RMB. In early autumn, the company introduced the world's first triple-folding smartphone, also using its own self-developed chip.

(According to SCMP, Bloomberg)