News | Pacific Technology
Following the “sold out before release” of the Huawei Mate 60 series at the end of August last year, Huawei has once again staged a similar event.
On April 18, the Huawei Pura70 series suddenly went on sale! The Huawei Pura70 series includes four versions: Pura70, Pura70 Pro, Pura70 Pro+, and Pura70 Ultra, priced between 5499 yuan and 10999 yuan.
The sudden release of the Mate 60 series last year not only sparked nationwide discussions but also maintained high sales momentum for a long time, with Mate 60 still being out of stock until the end of last year. Perhaps tasting the enormous attention brought by the “sudden attack,” the Huawei Pura70 series of smartphones also adopted this unconventional strategy within the industry.
Huawei has high hopes for this new device. A few days before its launch, Huawei announced the upgrade of the P series brand to the Pura series, with Pura70 being the first phone in this series. If the Mate 60 marked Huawei’s return to the 5G smartphone market, then the Pura70 is the mighty weapon for Huawei’s full-scale offensive.
Previously, Huawei’s peak in the high-end smartphone market (priced at ≥$600) was in the first half of 2020 when it surpassed Apple with a market share of 44% compared to Apple’s 41%, becoming the leader in the Chinese high-end market. Now, with the hot sales of the Mate 60 series and the launch of the Pura70 series, Huawei is making a strong comeback in the high-end market. Whether it can surpass Apple and reclaim its former top spot, the Pura70 series will be the decisive battle.
How capable is the Pura70 series?
According to data previously released by Huawei up to the end of 2021, the Huawei P series had shipped over 100 million units (excluding the Huawei P60 series), which is quite remarkable for a high-end smartphone. Richard Yu, Executive Director, CEO of the Consumer Business Group, and Chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solutions Business Unit, stated that after the upgrade of the Huawei P series to “Huawei Pura,” these phones will continue to focus on exploration in imaging and aesthetics.
For brands plagued by negative reputation, a name change might be a fresh start to escape public pressure. But for a brand already well-established and mostly viewed positively, a name change is a significant decision as it could mean resetting the brand awareness already built.
However, Huawei had long been contemplating a name change. According to intellectual property information from Tianyancha, as early as 2019, Huawei applied to register several trademarks like “Pura” and “HUAWEI Pura,” classified under scientific instruments internationally. Currently, two trademarks have been successfully registered.
In Spanish, “pura” means “pure,” similar to “pure” in English. It is worth mentioning that Spanish is the world’s third-largest language, following Chinese and English. Therefore, industry analysts suggest that this name change is likely a signal of Huawei’s reentry into international markets. With Huawei’s strong brand influence domestically, rebuilding the Pura brand should not be difficult, particularly when its first product, the Pura70 series, boasts impressive capabilities.
The most significant change in the Huawei Pura70 is not just the name but also the design. Its rear camera module features a triangular design, standing out among the usual circular and rounded-square modules. The Pura70 is currently the only mainstream smartphone with a triangular module design. While aesthetics may vary, its uniqueness is undeniable.
In addition to its external changes, there has been a significant upgrade in the internal system of the Pura70 series. The top-tier Pura70 Ultra is equipped with a 1-inch main 50-megapixel camera, in addition to two other lenses: a 50-megapixel macro telephoto lens and a 40-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens.
This marks Huawei’s first use of a 1-inch main camera. In recent years, due to design constraints, Huawei has lagged behind its competitors in terms of camera sensors by one or two generations. Now, not only has Huawei caught up with its rivals but it also signifies a return to normalcy in the supply chain.
Notably, the main camera also features a periscope lens design. Its major advantage lies in the ability to change focal lengths using the lens extension, similar to many professional cameras. In other words, the Pura70 Ultra may achieve professional background blur without heavy reliance on algorithms. It’s undeniable that smartphones are getting closer to cameras.
However, the processor, considered one of the most intriguing features of the Huawei Pura70 series, is yet to be disclosed, similar to the Mate60 series, not revealing the specific model. Tech bloggers have speculated that it might be a slightly upgraded version of the Kirin 9000S.
In terms of other specifications, the Huawei Pura70 series is also similar to the Mate60 series, featuring Kunpeng glass, dual-directional satellite communication, and Lingxi communication.
Price Comparison of Huawei’s Latest Smartphone Series
In terms of pricing, the different versions of the four products are priced as follows:
Huawei Pura70:
- 12GB+256GB priced at 5499 yuan
- 12GB+512GB priced at 5999 yuan
- 12GB+1TB priced at 6999 yuan
Huawei Pura70 Pro:
- 12GB+256GB priced at 6499 yuan
- 12GB+512GB priced at 6999 yuan
- 12GB+1TB priced at 7999 yuan
Huawei Pura70 Pro+:
- 16GB+512GB priced at 7999 yuan
- 16GB+1TB priced at 8999 yuan
Huawei Pura70 Ultra:
- 16GB+512GB priced at 9999 yuan
- 16GB+1TB priced at 10999 yuan
Compared to Huawei Mate 60 Pro+ and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Huawei Pura70 Ultra shines in terms of configuration and features. The success of last year’s Mate 60 series also proves Huawei’s appeal in the smartphone market.
Tianfeng Securities analyst Ming-kuo Guo previously predicted that the shipment volume of the P70 series (Pura70 series) in 2024 is expected to achieve a substantial increase, with a possible year-on-year growth of up to 230%, reaching 13-15 million units.
If the sales of the Pura70 series follow the same upward trend as the Mate 60 series, the first challenge it may face is likely to be production capacity. After the launch of the Mate 60 series last year, it experienced prolonged shortages, with its production capacity unable to meet market demand. With the arrival of the Pura70 series now, Huawei needs to address this issue as a priority.
A Huawei store salesperson informed PConline that the stock of the Pura70 series this time is two to three times that of the Mate 60 series. However, it is still expected that there will be a high demand in the short term.
As of the time of reporting, Pura70 series in all four versions are already sold out.
Huawei Returns to the High-End Market
Prior to the launch of the Pura70 series, the “big brother” Mate 60 had already paved the way for it.
Market research firm CounterPoint predicts that in 2024, the shipment volume of mid-range smartphones priced at $150-249 (approximately 1084-1800 yuan) globally is expected to increase by 11%, while the shipment volume of high-end smartphones priced at $600-799 (approximately 4337-5776 yuan) will increase by 17%.
Due to chip constraints and the independence of Honor, Huawei has long been absent from the mid-range market in the past few years, with only the Enjoy series and Nova series available. However, their sales figures have not been remarkable. Even the Nova 12, which has the highest number of reviews on the Huawei official website, has less than 8,000 reviews.
Therefore, the higher-priced high-end market has become Huawei’s main battlefield. Currently, Huawei’s high-end product lines on sale include the Pura70 series, Mate 60 series, foldable screen phones Pocket series, Mate Xs series, and Mate X5 series. Among them, the best-selling Mate 60 Pro has received over 150,000 reviews on the Huawei official website.
According to CounterPoint Research data, in the fourth quarter of 2023, Huawei’s sales in the Chinese smartphone market increased by 71.1%, with its market share rising from 9.5% in the same period last year to 15.2%, moving up from sixth place to third.
Also according to “Wall Street News,” as of March 1, the combined sales of Huawei Mate 60 series and Mate X5 have exceeded 10 million units. The BCI report also indicates that in the fourth quarter of 2023, Huawei’s sales of smartphones priced above 10,000 yuan in China accounted for 40%.
Huawei’s peak in the high-end smartphone market (priced at $600 and above) was in the first half of 2020 when it surpassed Apple with a 44% market share against Apple’s 41%, making it the leader in the Chinese high-end market. With the current success of the Mate60 series and the launch of the Pura70 series, Huawei is poised to reclaim lost ground. Whether it can surpass Apple and reclaim its former glory, the Pura70 series will be the key battleground.
In the foldable screen market, Huawei is also making remarkable progress. According to the latest report from research firm DSCC, Huawei’s foldable screen smartphone market is expected to grow by 105% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, with market share surpassing Samsung for the first time, leading the foldable screen smartphone market.
For Huawei today, the significance of the high-end market lies in the fact that although the shipment volume is not as high as the mid-range market, the higher average price can significantly improve Huawei’s profitability and contribute more to its profits.
According to Huawei’s financial report, in the full year of 2023, Huawei achieved global sales revenue of 704.2 billion yuan, an increase of 9.64% year-on-year, with terminal business sales revenue reaching 251.5 billion yuan, a significant increase of 17.3% year-on-year.
It is worth mentioning that the success of the Mate 60 series last year also propelled the sales of Huawei’s Harmony Horizon’s Wanjie M7, with sales increasing steadily. The two were launched only half a month apart. Now, after 9 months since the release, the new Wanjie M7 has sold more than 170,000 units, with an average monthly sales volume of nearly 20,000 units. In comparison, during the same period, the sales of the sibling model Wanjie M5 amounted to only 13,000 units, less than 1/10 of the former’s sales.
With the launch of the Pura70 series this time, Huawei seems to be replicating the strategy of using smartphones to boost the automotive sector. Just a few days later on April 23, the new Wanjie M5 is set to be released. If it could follow the same path as the new Wanjie M7, make certain upgrades in configuration and pricing, replicating the success of the former is not impossible.
“Pure Blood” Harmony OS Ready for Action
The return of Huawei smartphones to the right track brings a direct impact as Harmony OS gains more user support.
Mate 60 went on sale in August last year, and subsequently in early September, Huawei announced the full launch of Harmony OS native applications. # Huawei’s Strategy with HarmonyOS
Huawei is finally breaking away from the compatibility issues with Android, moving towards a pure version of HarmonyOS.
Huawei has announced that the “Huawei Developer Conference 2024” will be held in June this year. The HarmonyOS NEXT, also known as HarmonyOS Star River edition, will start its developer Beta program in June and is set to be commercially released in the fourth quarter.
Previously, Yu Chengdong stated that “2024 is a crucial year for the native HarmonyOS,” emphasizing the acceleration of the development of various native HarmonyOS applications to win the battles of technology foundation and third-party ecosystem.
As of the end of March this year, over 4000 applications have joined the HarmonyOS ecosystem, covering various sectors such as lifestyle e-commerce, transportation, finance, social networking, news, productivity tools, multimedia entertainment, and gaming.
However, this number still significantly lags behind Android and iOS. According to the data from a national APP technology testing platform, by the end of May 2023, there were already 2.61 million active applications in the domestic market in China. Although Huawei HarmonyOS phone sales are increasing and the user base is expanding, enriching the software ecosystem takes time, especially for niche apps that require further adaptation.
No ecosystem is built overnight. The growth of the HarmonyOS ecosystem requires more HarmonyOS phones. Only with an increasing user base can the ecosystem establish a positive cycle and attract more developers to create HarmonyOS applications. Despite the success of the Mate 60 series and the competitive Pura70 series, high-end phone users are still outnumbered by mid-range and low-end market users.
As mentioned earlier, Huawei’s mid-range Enjoy series and nova series have not performed as well in the market over the past two years compared to the two high-end brands. Huawei aims to ship 60-70 million smartphones in 2024, which is still nearly four times lower than the peak of 240 million units in 2019.
Therefore, while maintaining its position in the high-end market, Huawei may need to consider launching more competitive mid-range and low-end smartphones to continuously increase the installation base and user community of the HarmonyOS system.
In conclusion, if the Mate 60 marked Huawei’s return to the smartphone market, then the Pura70 signifies the comprehensive blossoming of Huawei’s software ecosystem after the normalization of its supply chain.
