The unexpected success of Huawei's super-thin phone

New ultra-thin phone model. Photo: Huawei .

On the morning of November 11 (local time), Huawei officially sold the Mate 70 Air model. Currently, when buying the standard Feather White version at the independent store on JD.com, users will receive delivery the next day.

As the thinnest Huawei Mate model ever, the Mate 70 Air starts at 4,199 yuan (RMB). Thanks to national subsidy policies in some provinces and cities, the initial price can be reduced to just 3,699 yuan.

On third-party platforms, even without subsidies, the Mate 70 Air can still be as low as 3,778 yuan with a 10% membership coupon applied. Users can “log in cumulatively” to receive up to 1,000 yuan after two months for Huawei’s new models.

According to Lei Technology , among Huawei's recent Mate series flagships, almost none of them sold out as soon as they opened for pre-orders or sales, except for the Huawei Mate 70 Air. Although this new Air model received a lot of attention, Huawei classified it as the previous generation Mate 70 series, and only officially launched a year later.

Compared to the iPhone Air, the Mate 70 Air is 1mm thicker and 43g heavier. But it seems that the company has learned from the experience of Apple's super-thin phone launch in September, and has a completely different way of promoting it.

Mate 70 Air's quad-camera cluster. Photo: Huawei.

Although the Mate 70 Air is only relatively thin and light, it focuses on demonstrating technological efficiency in many other aspects. The model has a 7-inch high-refresh-rate OLED screen on the front, and a 4-camera cluster on the back, including a large, super-sensitive sensor main camera, a telephoto lens with optical image stabilization, an ultra-wide angle, and a “Red Maple” original color camera.

In addition, the device also has a large 6,500 mAh battery, a symmetrical dual speaker system, and 66W fast wired charging. The current version of the Mate 70 Air, although supporting dual SIM dual standby, does not have a physical SIM slot and does not support eSIM.

In terms of product positioning, the iPhone Air is designed with a thin and light philosophy, but regardless of cost and price. Meanwhile, Huawei's Mate 70 Air has the main goal of making mid-range and high-end products more accessible.

According to data from IDC, Vivo surpassed Huawei to take the number one spot in the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter of 2025. Huawei's new models also faced low sales during the biggest shopping season of the year on JD.com. Analysts said Huawei needed a flagship model in the low-priced segment to boost overall sales.

Competition in the above segment is increasingly fierce. Lei Technology has noted two trends in the domestic market. One is that expensive iPhone lines such as 17, 17 Pro Max or Android flagships such as Xiaomi 17 Pro/Max series also achieved impressive initial sales.

Second, major domestic Android manufacturers are starting a wave of “mid-range premiumization.” At the end of October, Xiaomi launched the Pro Max version of the REDMI, targeting the price segment around 4,000 yuan, followed by new product lines such as the OPPO Reno and Honor X00, which are expected to follow this month.

In that context, the Mate 70 Air, officially launched on Singles Day, is attracting attention with its strategy of “deep discounts” and “continuous promotions”. This shows that the manufacturer that once held the throne in the domestic high-end smartphone market and was strong enough to compete with Apple, is quickly adapting to the new situation and challenges.

Source: https://znews.vn/thanh-cong-bat-ngo-cua-dien-thoai-sieu-mong-tu-huawei-post1602000.html