These past few days, a certain overseas media outlet reported that the global sales of the Huawei Mate60 series have exceeded 30 million units. Additionally, they mentioned the upcoming launch of the Mate70 series in September this year, aimed at directly competing with the Apple iPhone 16 series in markets like China. As for the Mate70, the foreign media claimed that the device will be equipped with a 1-inch sensor and feature “narrower, more uniform” borders.
Since the release of the Huawei Mate60 series, it has broken through the US blockade, introducing 5G chips, powerful camera technology, HarmonyOS, and satellite communication Star Flash technology. It was launched at the end of August without a press conference and became a popular product in the Chinese smartphone market in the third and fourth quarters. The demand was so high that it became difficult to find, establishing itself as the most powerful representative of high-end Chinese smartphones.
However, due to US sanctions, the production capacity of the Kirin 9000S chip is still limited. Additionally, because of restrictions related to the Google software ecosystem imposed by the US, the Huawei Mate60 series is mainly sold domestically. Therefore, the claim by this overseas media that the global sales of the Huawei Mate60 series have exceeded 30 million units should be considered inaccurate.
Furthermore, after the launch of the Huawei Mate60 series, the target shipment volume for this series was raised to 20 million units by the Huawei team. Even if all 20 million units are sold, it would still fall short of the 30 million units mark. In the 2023 rankings for Chinese smartphones, Huawei recorded sales of 32.07 million units. If the Huawei Mate60 series could account for 10 million units, it would be a remarkable achievement. It is estimated that the current performance of the Huawei Mate60 series is around 10 million units.
In fact, analyzing the total sales of the Huawei Mate series from the Mate7 series with 7 million units to the Mate40 series with 32.30 million units, Huawei has been steadily catching up with the iPhone in the high-end series, from the Chinese market to the global market. Apart from the Mate series, Huawei’s high-end series also includes the P series. If not for the hegemonic sanctions imposed by the US, Huawei would likely be the global leader in the smartphone market. Both the Mate series and the P series of Huawei achieve tens of millions in sales each year, so there is still regret and resentment.
After several years of effort, Huawei has made partial breakthroughs despite the blockade. However, the influence of the US in hardware and software continues. Huawei and other Chinese tech companies must continue their efforts.