Photo credit: finance.yahoo.com
Huawei’s Mate 70 Smartphone Faces Lackluster Reception in China
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The recent launch of Huawei’s Mate 70 smartphone has not generated the expected level of consumer excitement in China, raising concerns about the tech giant’s overall shipment figures for the year. According to brokerage Jefferies, this trend could potentially benefit rivals such as Apple and other Chinese brands.
In a report released on Thursday, Jefferies noted a significant decrease in enthusiasm surrounding the Mate 70, as indicated by the frequency of online reviews and discussions since its introduction. This shift in consumer engagement has led the brokerage to reassess its forecast for Huawei’s shipments, which initially projected a total of 48 million devices for this year.
Jefferies pointed out the disappointing sales figures of the earlier Pura 70 model, which has only sold approximately 5 million units since its launch in April. The situation is further compounded by the performance of the Mate 60, which had shipped between 12 million and 13 million units to date, falling short of initial estimates of 15 to 16 million.
The analysts expressed concern that Mate 70 might experience even lower sales than its predecessor, the Mate 60. They highlighted that the revised shipping forecast for Huawei now carries a downside risk, consequently favoring competitors like the iPhone.
Although Huawei has positioned the Mate 70 as the most advanced model in its lineup, both analysts and consumers have indicated that the improvements over the Mate 60 seem minimal. The Mate 60 was significant, showcasing Huawei’s advancements in chip manufacturing despite years of U.S. sanctions, but the company has struggled to achieve notable enhancements in performance and production yield, as previously reported by Reuters.
This challenge has resulted in supply shortages for the Mate 60 during its initial months of availability, and Jefferies anticipates that similar production hurdles may arise for the Mate 70 as well.
Toby Zhu, an analyst at Canalys, suggested that the cooling consumer reaction towards Huawei’s new phone was to be expected. He noted that the initial hype surrounding Huawei’s comeback would naturally fade over time. However, he did predict that Mate 70 sales might witness slight growth compared to the Mate 60 series due to improved production capabilities for flagship models.
The surge in patriotic sentiment around Huawei’s technological advancements has played a crucial role in its market recovery and intensified competition among smartphone manufacturers. According to research firm Canalys, Huawei ranked as China’s second-largest smartphone vendor in the third quarter of 2024, consistently delivering over 10 million units for the fourth consecutive quarter.
This marks a significant recovery from the second quarter of 2022, when the company only managed to ship 4.1 million units.
Source
finance.yahoo.com