Huawei Mate 70 poses a challenge for Apple

Huawei Technologies released its long-awaited flagship Mate 70 models on Tuesday, featuring "AI Teleportation," enhanced satellite communications connection and upgraded HarmonyOS Next operating system.

The release is expected to boost AI's popularity among smartphones and further pressure Apple's iPhone performance in the domestic market, analysts said.

Sales of the Mate 70 series, costing from 5,499 yuan (US$764) and 12,999 yuan, will begin next Wednesday.

Mate sales, as Huawei smartphone's premium sub-brand, have exceeded 100 million units since its debut 12 years ago.

Most powerful Mate model

"It's the most powerful Mate phone ever," Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei's Terminal Business Group, said in Shenzhen on Tuesday.

The new phones include "AI Teleportation," called AirDrop Gesture by Huawei. People can use a grab gesture to take a screenshot and share the image on different devices among phones, tablets and foldable devices, making media sharing easier compared with Apple's AirDrop services.

Other features of the Mate 70 include a more durable screen, enhanced camera to capture vivid images and videos in difficult environments such as bars and concerts, and satellite communications and enhanced connections in places such as parking lots and Metro lines.

Another highlight of the Mate 70 series is HarmonyOS NEXT, the 5th generation of the Huawei-backed operating system. With over a billion devices running HarmonyOS, Huawei is well-positioned to expand its ecosystem and challenge the dominance of Android and iOS in China.

Challenge to iPhone in the high-end market

Huawei's Mate 70 trended on Weibo, with some users showing screenshots of their orders.

Total sales of Mate 70 models will hit 10 million units, with rapid sales growth since the first quarter of 2025, said Zhang Mengmeng, a Couterpoint analyst.

In the first nine months, Huawei took the No. 2 position in Chinese smartphone market with a 16.8-percent market share, behind Vivo's 17.2 percent, according to International Data Corp or IDC.

With the popularity of the Mate 60 and Pura 70 models, Huawei has returned to top positions in the high-end (above US$600) market in China.

IDC said Huawei took a 30.7-percent market share in the high-end segment by September (21.7 percent in 2023), compared with Apple's 52 percent (61.8 percent in 2023).

On Tuesday, Huawei also released a foldable model and other smart devices.