TMTPost   -- Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Is replicating success of Mate 60 last year and bringing it into more direct competition with Apple Inc. ’ s top-of-the-line iPhone.

Credit：Huawei

Just like previous flagship smartphone Mate 60 Pro unveiled last August, Huawei surprisingly kicked off sales for its new lineup Pura 70 without official release on Thursday. With little marketing, Huawei annouced via a post at Chinese microblogging platform Weibo and a post at Tencent ’ s social media WeChat that Pura 70 series have been placed under its Pioneer Program. The move marked two variants of the series--the Pura 70 Ultra and the Pura 70 Pro official went on sale at Thursday morning Beijing Time, and sales of other two variants followed on April 22, Monday.

The latest series, as the first of the Pura family, consist of four devices--the Pura 70, the Pura 70 Pro, the Pura 70 Pro Plus and the Pura 70 Ultra, starting at RMB5,499 ( US$760.06 ) , RMB6,499, RMB7,999 and RMB9,999, respectively. The base version Pura 70 costs less than iPhone 15 as the latter sold at RMB5,999 in China. Leading the series, the Pura 70 Ultra just matches the price tag on iPhone 15 Pro Max, suggesting Huawei is directly challeging Apple in the same price categories.   

While Huawei didn ’ t clarify whether Mate 60 Pro or Pura 70 supports the 5G network, multiple Chinese media outlets said following Mate 60 sales that online tests proved Mate 60 Pro can deliver the internet speed of 5G. Multiple reports attributed Mate 60 ’ s 5G connectivity to Kirin 9000s chipset, which was deemed as evidence that Huawei managed to defy years of U.S. sanctions.   It is expected that all the Pura 70 series are driven by the Kirin 9010 chipset and support 5G network like Mate60.

Unlike the Mate series that highlight performance and business features, the Pura 70 series boast advanced cameras and sleek design. As the pictures about the back case recently leaked, the Pura 70 has a triangular camera island and three cameras placed in a symmetrical triangle formation. Backed by HarmonyOS 4.2, the Pura 70 sports a triple-lens arrangement with a 50MP super-concentrated primary shooter ( f/1.4 – f/4.0 ) , a 13MP ultra-wide lens ( f/2.2 aperture ) , and a 12MP periscope telephoto snapper ( f/3.4 aperture, OIS, autofocus ) . The front face includes a 13MP ultra-wide sensor ( f/2.4 aperture ) with various shooting modes. The device is further coupled with 12GB RAM and consists of three storage options – 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

Huawei launched presales for Mate 60 Pro on August 29   2023   even though it has not officially released the model, neither provided details about technical specifications. The low-profile presale turned out such a success that the first batch of the phone sold out within hours, igniting fervor for Huawei ’ s 5G comeback in China. Pura 70 series received even more popularity. The device was out of stock in less than a minute after sales at Huawei website started. It was said that hundreds of Huawei's fans lined up at its retail stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Chinese newspaper National Business Daily learned that an offline Huawei dealer paid the Pura 70 pre-order days ago with a premium of RMB500.00, and the current stock volume was said to be relatively sufficient. "There may be some shortage at various channels but supply will be much better compared to when the Mate 60 was launched. We don't expect any long-lasting shortage,"   said Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at research firm Counterpoint. He expected shipments of about 60 million units from Huawei this year, with the Pura 70 series being an important catalyst.   If the pricing remains reasonable and Huawei effectively addresses the production capacity shortage, shipments of the Pura 70 series could exceed 10 million units this year, said Sui Qian, TechInsights ’ s Senior Director of Wireless Smartphone Strategic Services.