Huawei Mate 70 exposure： performance, image upgrade, iPhone 16 biggest rivals？

In the first half of 2020, Huawei surpassed Apple in the domestic smartphone market of more than $600 and became the leader of flagship mobile phones. The good times did not last long. Due to various restrictions, Huawei’s hardware procurement and chip foundry became difficult, and the top flagship Mate series was even forced to stop updating in 2021.

According to IDC data, Huawei returned to the top of China’s smartphone market in shipments in the first half of this year with a market share of 17.5%, but the high-end market share did not surpass Apple. IDC pointed out that while external restrictions continue, Huawei’s supply capacity is also improving, narrowing the gap with Apple in the market of more than 4,000 yuan.

But if Huawei wants to reverse the situation and catch up with Apple in the high-end market share, the most important reliance remains the all-round flagship Mate series.More than half of 2024 has passed, and the long-awaited Mate series has finally arrived, and there are more surprises than expected.

Kirin 9100 + Pure Blood Hongmeng, Mate 70 is full of surprises

In 2024, Huawei has successively released the Enjoy 70 series, Pocket 2, Pura 70 series, nova Flip and other models, including both entry-level smartphones and high-end flagship models. At the full-scene new product launch on September 10, Huawei is also expected to bring the industry’s first triple-fold mobile phone and nova 13 series.

Unfortunately, the Mate 70 is unlikely to make an appearance at this conference, but pollen fans don’t have to worry either. According to various sources such as the Financial Union and digital chat stations, the Mate 70 series is expected to be released in November.

On September 10, Beijing time, Apple will hold a new product launch conference to launch the iPhone 16 series, and November is the time when the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 models will be released one after another. Huawei’s triple-fold mobile phone, nova 13 series, and Mate 70 series, choose to be released close to or even on the same day, to compete with Apple and Android manufacturers for product strength and popularity. Short combat, more need to be based on strong strength, Mate 70 series hard strength is strong enough?

According to the pictures released on the Internet, the back design of the Mate 70 Pro is not much different from the previous generation, the front-facing camera is 48 million pixels, retains the 3D sensor, the rear camera module is 60 million pixel main camera + 48 million pixel ultra-wide angle + 48 million pixel telephoto lens, supports 5x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom.Compared to the Mate 60 Pro, the camera module of the Mate 70 Pro has undergone a significant improvement, and with Huawei’s imaging algorithm, it can better meet the needs of users in the video era.

Interestingly, the Financial Union reported that insiders revealed that the Mate 70 Pro will use a side fingerprint + 3D face unlock solution. From an ergonomic perspective, Xiao Lei believes that the rear fingerprint > side fingerprint > screen fingerprint, but the screen fingerprint is better integrated, and the back and side designs will not be obtrusive.

There is also a problem with the side fingerprint – the recognition area is too small, the recognition success rate is slightly inferior to the screen fingerprint and the rear fingerprint solution, and the recognition success rate will be greatly reduced when the finger is peeled or wet. Of course, with 3D facial recognition assistance, the Mate 70 Pro does not have to worry about the fingerprint recognition rate, but Xiao Lei is curious why the Mate series is replaced from the screen fingerprint to the side fingerprint.

The most anticipated thing about the Mate 70 series is the SoC and system. The performance gap between the Mate 40 series and the Mate 60 series is not big, but the Mate 70 series is different, it will be equipped with the Kirin 9100 chip. Earlier digital blogger @fixed focus digital broke the news that the open source community exposed a processor, the big core ID is named "linxicore9100", and the small core ID is "linxicore6100", which is likely to be the Kirin 9100.

The X platform blogger broke the news that the Kirin 9100 is divided into multiple versions, based on the equivalent 5nm process technology, the worst version of which has also reached the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 + Gen 1 level of performance, with Huawei’s optimization, the overall fluency is not inferior to the flagship machine equipped with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It is expected to be launched by the three-fold model.Huawei’s new system, HarmonyOS NEXT, which is "Pure Blood Hongmeng", will no longer be compatible with Android applications, and the fluency will be greatly improved compared with previous versions of the system, or it will be launched by the Mate 60 series.

The most important image module, SoC, and system of the mobile phone have been fully upgraded, as well as the bright spot of side fingerprint + 3D facial recognition. I believe that many small partners have been excited about the Mate 70 series, but before buying, they must also consider whether they can accept the application ecology of Mate 70 Pro.Whether the Mate 70 Pro can sell well, the completion of the HarmonyOS NEXT ecosystem will be a top priority.

Pure Blood Hongmeng, the killer of Huawei Mate 70

Performance is not the strength of previous generations of Mate series models, but with the optimization of HarmonyOS, the Mate 50/60 series has achieved the fluency of the iPhone and Android flagship. In the past, in order to meet the needs of users for the software ecosystem, HarmonyOS has been compatible with Android applications. Now, HarmonyOS has to give up the compatibility of Android applications and create its own Hongmeng ecosystem.

After getting rid of the burden of compatible Android applications, the fluency of HarmonyOS NEXT is expected to be further improved, but it also raises the question of whether the HarmonyOS NEXT application ecosystem can meet the needs of users.

At the developer conference in June this year, Huawei said that more than 5,000 users’ commonly used application developers have started the development of Hongmeng native applications, of which 1,500 + applications have been completed on the shelves. According to the data released by the Beijing Hongmeng Ecological Partner Conference of "Thousand Sails Competing for a Common Beijing Color" some time ago, nearly 620 applications in Beijing have started the development of Hongmeng native applications, and more than 200 applications have been completed on the shelves.

According to this rate, after the Mate 70 series is listed and HarmonyOS NETX is launched in the fourth quarter, there may be more than 5,000 applications on the shelves of Hongmeng ecology. However, only 5,000 applications are still too few compared to the iOS and Android systems. According to the data of the national APP technology detection platform, as of May 2023, the domestic iOS and Android platforms alone have reached 2.61 million active apps.

5,000 apps may be able to meet users’ daily communication and office needs, but when we have some relatively special or professional needs, Hongmeng Ecology may not find the app we need.The work requirements are relatively easy to solve. Even if there is no relevant app, it can be operated on the computer through Huawei’s device interconnection function. HarmonyOS NEXT is more difficult to improve the game ecosystem.

Apple has worked hard for years to build a huge iOS ecology. Huawei is strong, but ecological construction can’t eat fat people in one bite, and it takes enough time to accumulate.Under the premise that the ecosystem has not yet been fully perfected, stopping the compatibility of Android applications is also a challenge for the Mate 70 series.

HarmonyOS NEXT develops multi-terminal deployment features at one time, enabling it to simultaneously adapt to devices such as Hongmeng mobile phones, PCs, cars, tablets, etc. In the future, it will cost little to cover other devices, which is the foundation for Huawei to build a full-category application ecosystem.Huawei needs to launch a pure-blood version of Hongmeng as soon as possible, calling on partners to join the Hongmeng family and accelerate the construction of the Hongmeng ecosystem.What’s more, since Huawei dares to give up compatibility with Android applications, it must be ready. With the support of the new Mate series, Huawei will once again challenge Apple.

What are the odds of Huawei winning in the high-end market against Apple again?

The complex needs of consumers and the ecosystem of HarmonyOS NEXT are likely to become a hindrance to the sales breakthrough of the Mate 70 series, especially in China, where the global smartphone industry is most competitive. The high-end mobile phone market is not only dominated by Apple, but also by brands such as OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor.

Therefore, Xiaolei believes that in addition to continuing to cooperate with developers to improve the HarmonyOS NEXT ecosystem, Huawei also needs two operations to enhance its strengths and make up for its weaknesses.The first is to target specific groups of people, adapt applications, and place marketing advertisements.From the official information released by Huawei, HarmonyOS NEXT is mainly suitable for applications with a large number of users or office-related applications. Business people can be selected as the target consumer group and marketing strategies can be customized.

The second is to partner with developers to develop exclusive apps or games.In the field of tablet computers, Huawei has launched the "Born to Draw" app, which proves that Huawei has the strength to develop exclusive applications. If we can co-develop some HarmonyOS NEXT exclusive applications or games, we can also attract some consumers.

Due to the impact of Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, Apple’s power has not been as strong as before, with mobile phone sales declining year-on-year and revenue falling short of expectations. After Huawei experienced a period of precipitation, mobile phone sales have been soaring since the Mate 50 series. The current domestic share has surpassed Apple, and it is believed that the high-end market will soon be equally matched with Apple.