Key Points
- According to Jefferies ‘ analysis, Huawei’s Mate 70 launch has drawn less consumer enthusiasm.
- Jefferies revised its 2024 Huawei shipment estimate of 48 million units downward due to muted Mate 70 performance.
- Huawei ranked China’s second-largest smartphone vendor in Q3 2024, with a significant market recovery since 2022.
- Despite challenges, Huawei’s technological breakthroughs and local support have fueled its market resurgence.
Huawei’s newly launched Mate 70 smartphone is a source of muted enthusiasm among Chinese consumers. This shift could lower the tech giant’s overall smartphone shipments for 2024 and create opportunities for competitors like Apple and other Chinese brands. Jefferies shared this assessment in a research note on Thursday.
Based on an analysis of online discussions following the Mate 70’s Tuesday debut, Jefferies noted a noticeable decline in consumer excitement. Metrics such as review frequency and commentary suggested less enthusiasm than previous launches. This prompted Jefferies to reconsider its initial projection of 48 million smartphone shipments for Huawei in 2024.
The lukewarm reception of the Mate 70 follows a mixed performance by its predecessors. Huawei’s Pura 70, launched in April 2024, shipped just 5 million units to date, while the Mate 60 has reached 12-13 million units, falling short of earlier estimates of 15-16 million. Analysts now predict Mate 70 sales might underperform relative to the Mate 60, further dampening Huawei’s shipment outlook for the year.
Despite the subdued response, Huawei remains a key player in China’s smartphone market. The company touted the Mate 70 as its most powerful phone yet, but critics noted limited advancements over its predecessor. The Mate 60 generated significant buzz by demonstrating Huawei’s ability to overcome U.S. sanctions and locally produce advanced chips. However, production challenges hampered its performance and availability during its initial months, and similar bottlenecks are expected to impact the Mate 70.
An analyst at Canalys, Toby Zhu, explained that the diminished excitement surrounding the Mate 70 is natural as the initial hype around Huawei’s comeback fades. Nevertheless, Zhu projected a slight sales increase for the Mate 70 compared to the Mate 60, attributing this to better flagship production capacity.
Patriotic sentiment tied to Huawei’s technological milestones has bolstered the brand’s recovery, intensifying competition in China’s smartphone market. Huawei secured the position of China’s second-largest smartphone vendor in Q3 2024, achieving over 10 million shipments for the fourth consecutive quarter. This marks a remarkable recovery from Q2 2022 when shipments dropped to just 4.1 million units.
