Huawei Launches Mate 70 Series as U.S. Chip Curbs Loom

Huawei Technologies launched its flagship Mate 70 smartphone models, introducing its new HarmonyOS NEXT operating system amid growing fears of U.S. export restrictions on Chinese chipmakers.

The Mate 70 Pro costs 6,499 yuan ($896); the Mate 70 range begins at 5,499 yuan ($759). The Mate 70 Pro+ runs at 8,499 yuan ($1,172). Apple (AAPL, Financials) offers its basic iPhone 16 model in China for 5, 999 yuan ($826), by contrast.

Huawei started gathering Mate 70 series pre-orders last week. The phones include an AI-capable interface with real-time translation and voice restoration tools and enable Tiantong satellite calls featuring a new satellite paging capability.

Designed as part of Huawei’s attempt to cut reliance on American technology, the Mate 70 represents the first significant release of HarmonyOS NEXT, the Android-free operating system built by the firm.

With an aim of reaching 100,000 apps in the next months, the business also revealed it secured over 15,000 applications for its HarmonyOS ecosystem.

Concerns about the U.S. government possibly imposing additional export restrictions, which may put up to 200 Chinese semiconductor firms to a trade blacklist, therefore restricting access to American suppliers, accompany the launch.

Launched immediately after Apple’s release of the iPhone 16 series on Sept. 9, Huawei claimed in September receiving over 3 million pre-orders for its triple-folding Mate XT smartphone on its Vmall website. Surprising many observers with its purported 5G capabilities despite U.S. prohibitions on essential technologies, the Mate 70 replaces the Mate 60 series, which was introduced secretly in August of last year.

Once a major rival of Apple and Samsung Electronics (SSNLF, Financials) in the worldwide mobile industry, U.S. regulations starting in 2019 limited Huawei’s access to chipmaking equipment for sophisticated smartphone models, therefore posing serious obstacles to once major rival.

Huawei unveiled the Pura 70 series in April, including the Kirin 9010 chipa follow-up to the Kirin 9000s allegedly manufactured by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMICY, Financials)reportedly for the Mate 60 Pro.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.