According to a note released on Thursday by brokerage firm Jefferies, online discussions following the Mate 70's launch on Tuesday indicate a significant decrease in enthusiasm compared to previous launches. This is evident from the reduced volume of reviews and online commentary.
In light of this information, the firm has revised its initial projection for Huawei's smartphone shipments this year. The firm had previously estimated that Huawei would ship 48 million phones in 2023. However, considering the lackluster performance of the Mate 70 and the modest sales of the earlier Mate 60 model (which has only managed to ship 5 million units since its launch in April), the firm believes that this projection may need to be adjusted downward.
The Mate 70's predecessor, the Mate 60, which signified Huawei's return to the high-end smartphone market last year, has shipped between 12 million and 13 million units to date, falling short of initial estimates of 15 to 16 million.
Analysts expressed concerns that the Mate 70's sales could ultimately be lower than those of the Mate 60.
Jefferies indicated that its forecast of 48 million shipments for Huawei this year now carries downside risks, which could be advantageous for iPhone and other competing brands.
Huawei has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The company has promoted the Mate 70 as its most powerful Mate phone to date; however, analysts and consumers have noted that the enhancements over the previous model appear to be minimal.
Despite the initial attention garnered by the Mate 60, Huawei's domestic chip production capabilities have faced challenges in achieving significant performance and yield improvements, as reported by Reuters.
Consequently, supply shortages of the Mate 60 occurred in the initial post-launch months, and similar supply chain issues related to chip production are anticipated for the Mate 70, according to Jefferies.
Toby Zhu, an analyst at Canalys, observed that the cooling consumer response to Huawei's new phone was expected, as the initial excitement surrounding Huawei's comeback would naturally wane over time.
It is anticipated that there will be a moderate increase in sales volume for the Mate 70 series compared to the Mate 60 series, due in part to sufficient production capacity for flagship models.
Huawei's technological advancements have instilled a sense of national pride, contributing to its market resurgence and intensifying competition within the industry.
According to research firm Canalys, Huawei achieved the position of China's second-largest smartphone vendor in the third quarter of 2024, with shipments exceeding 10 million units for the fourth consecutive quarter.
This represents a significant recovery from the second quarter of 2022, when the company shipped only 4.1 million units.