Huawei Mate 70 Models Tipped to Compete With Upcoming iPhone 16 Series

Huawei Mate 70 series is expected to be unveiled later this year. The company has not yet confirmed the lineup, but online leaks have suggested some features that the purported handsets may carry. The rumoured smartphones are expected to succeed the Huawei Mate 60 series that includes the Huawei Mate 60, Huawei Mate 60 Pro, Huawei Mate 60 Pro+, and Huawei Mate 60 RS Ultimate. The upcoming lineup may also be available with the same models. Ahead of any announcements, a new leak suggests that the phones may rival the next generation of Apple's smartphones.

Tipster Smart Pikachu (translated from Chinese) shared in a Weibo post that the Huawei Mate 70 series is expected to offer significant competition to the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, that is expected to launch in September this year. The Chinese OEM is said to bank more on domestic production and self-developed hardware and technology in their attempt to regain status as a market leader in China.

Huawei has already been experiencing growth in the Chinese market over the past few quarters. As per October sales numbers recorded by a Counterpoint Research report, Huawei sales grew by 83 percent, while Apple sales grew 11 percent, following the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 and iPhone 15 lineups. Another Counterpoint Research report showed that Huawei shipments soared 41 percent year-on-year in Q3 2023 followed by the launch of the Kirin 9000s SoC-backed Mate 60 models.

The growing trend for Huawei continued in the last quarter of 2023, which saw shipments increase by 36.2 percent. In comparison, Apple shipments in China shrank 2.1 percent on a year-on-year basis in Q4 2023. Although the company managed to bag the largest market share with 17.3 percent, analysts forecast a difficult year for the Cupertino-based tech giant in the Chinese market. 

Meanwhile, the tipster also claimed that Huawei is planning higher shipment volumes for its purported Mate 70 lineup, including that of the top-of-the-line RS Ultimate model. The volumes are said to be significantly larger than those seen with earlier models. The hybrid camera systems expected to feature on the Huawei Mate 70 models are likely to include a new one-inch primary camera with a large aperture for increased light processing capacities, according to the tipster.

The Mate 70 series is also tipped to get a display upgrade which may come with a quad micro-curved design. The models in the lineup are expected to offer different screen sizes, as is commonly seen with iPhone models. The company's Harmony OS is also expected to get integrated AI features.