After chip breakthrough, Huawei launches fresh lineup of phones to challenge Apple in China

Huawei launched a fresh line-up of smartphones on Thursday in a bid to continue its resurgence in China and ramp up its challenge to Apple in the market.

The Chinese technology giant took the wraps of the Pura 70 series, which replaces the "P series" of devices that the company first launched in 2012.

It's the latest sign of growing confidence from Huawei, after the company last year quietly launched its Mate 60 smartphone, which sported a high-end chip. This raised concerns in Washington, because the U.S. had slapped sanctions over the past few years which were designed to stop Huawei from accessing such technology.

These sanctions, which began in 2019, almost wiped out Huawei's smartphone business.

Now Huawei is trying to stage a comeback. The company's smartphone shipments in China rose 64% year over year in the first six weeks of 2024, according to Counterpoint Research, while Apple iPhone sales dropped 24% across the period.

Huawei's latest phones are its latest challenge to Apple, which is the dominant foreign smartphone brand in China.

The Pura 70 series as four devices — the Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, the Pura 70 Pro Plus and the Pura 70 Ultra — according to Huawei's official website.

Here are the starting prices in China for each:

Apple's iPhone 15 in China starts at 5,999 yuan, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at 9,999. So Huawei is challenging Apple directly in the same price categories.

Huawei has packed the devices with premium smartphone features. The back of the phone has a textured covering, while the Ultra version of the gear has a 6.8-inch screen. All of the new phone offerings are equipped with cameras that are a triple-lens setup, with features including long-range zoom and the ability to capture images of