Huawei hints at ‘game-changers’ in 2024 after Mate 60 launch

Huawei Technologies’ consumer business head said the company would launch “disruptive” products next year that could “rewrite the history of the industry”, months after the US-sanctioned Chinese telecommunications giant surprised the world with the launch of its 5G-capable Mate 60 smartphone series.

These products would be “leading, innovative and disruptive”, Richard Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group and chairman of its intelligent automotive solution business unit, said at the company’s annual fan club event on Saturday, according to Chinese media outlet Securities Times.

He did not elaborate on the nature of those products, the report said. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

During the event, Yu also said Huawei would release native apps and products based on its self-developed mobile platform HarmonyOS next year, making the firm one of the top operating system operators in China.

Yu’s bold claim came after the company released the Mate 60 handset series, which is powered by the Chinese-made advanced processor Kirin 9000s. It marked Huawei’s return to the 5G smartphone market after US trade sanctions barred the firm from accessing American technology.

The achievement has inspired a wave of patriotic fervour among Chinese consumers. Eight weeks after the launch of the Mate 60 series’ in late August, 2.4 million units were sold, according to data from research firm Counterpoint.

A separate estimate by research firm Canalys put shipments of the Mate 60 series at 2.5 million units by November 7, with the premium Mate 60 Pro making up more than 60 per cent of the volume.

Meanwhile, Huawei is actively expanding the adoption of its home-grown HarmonyOS platform by drawing more developers into its mobile ecosystem. The next iteration of HarmonyOS will no longer support Android-based apps, as part of the company’s strategy set out by founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei earlier this year to counter the impact of US sanctions.

Alibaba Group Holding’s fintech affiliate Ant Group is building a HarmonyOS version of its mobile payment app Alipay, while the China unit of McDonald’s – which runs more than 5,500 restaurants serving over 1 billion customers on the mainland, Macau and Hong Kong – recently became one of the first multinational food companies in the country to join Huawei’s platform.

Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, is also developing a new version of its workplace collaboration app DingTalk that is compatible with HarmonyOS.

Huawei is expected to launch a developer preview version of HarmonyOS Next in the first quarter of 2024. South China Morning Post