Reports out of China say that excitement over the Mate 70 line is down sharply compared to the predecessor models.
Two color options for the top-of-the-line Huawei Mate 70 RS Unlimited Design. | Image credit-Huawei
In August of 2023, Huawei shocked the smartphone industry by unveiling the flagship Mate 60 series. Despite U.S. sanctions that prevented Huawei from powering its phones with application processors that support 5G connectivity, the Chinese manufacturer was able to have China’s top foundry, SMIC, supply it with the Kirin 9000s SoC. Designed by Huawei and built by SMIC using its 7nm node, the Kirin 9000s allowed the Mate 60 to be the first Huawei flagship to support 5G since 2020’s Mate 40 line.
There was big excitement in China over Huawei’s ability to offer its first 5G flagship phone in three years. Nationalism also surfaced when Huawei was able to create its own 5G application processor despite the export rule change put in place by the U.S. to keep 5G chipsets out of Huawei’s hands. As you might have expected, at first the Mate 60 line sold like hotcakes in China.
Now, more than a year later, Huawei has introduced the Mate 70 series and the big news is that premium models like the Mate 70 Pro, Mate 70 Pro+, and the Mate 70 RS Ultimate Design will be powered by the Kirin 9100 AP.
