Mate 70 features HarmonyOS NEXT, breaking from Android
Huawei ranked China39;s No.2 smartphone vendor in Q3 2024
U.S. expected to announce new export controls

SHENZHEN, China, Nov 26 Reuters Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies unveiled its Mate 70 smartphone series on Tuesday, bolstering its premium smartphone comeback while showcasing its own operating system in a clean break away from U.S. technology.

The Mate 70 is the successor to the Mate 60 series released in August last year, widely seen as marking Huawei39;s comeback to highend smartphones in competition with Apple after its business was badly hit by U.S. export curbs.

Its launch comes as the U.S. is expected to announce new export controls that could add up to 200 Chinese chip companies to a trade blacklist as soon as this week, restricting their access to U.S. suppliers, Reuters reported on Saturday.

The device is the the most powerful Mate phone ever, Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei39;s consumer business group, said at an event in the company39;s hometown of Shenzhen that was livestreamed online and at its stores.

Mate 70 prices will start at 5,499 yuan 758, Yu said. Apple39;s base iPhone 16 model sells for 5,999 yuan in China.

Yu also said the Mate 70 is the first mainstream smartphone to include a satellite paging system, has an improved processor, and runs on Huawei39;s own HarmonyOS Next operating system, which together boost performance by 40 compared to previous models.

The Mate 70 series is…