The Pura 70 series has an earlier release window and relaxed supply restrictions. TechInsights expects the Huawei Pura 70 series to ship more than 10 million units in 2024.
The Zhitong Finance App learned that TechInsights published an article stating that the Huawei Mate 60 Pro series (including Mate 60 Pro, Mate 60, Mate 60 Pro+, and Mate 60 RS Ultimate) shipped 6.2 million units in China within 5 months (August to December 2023). The Pura 70 series has an earlier release window and relaxed supply restrictions. TechInsights expects the Huawei Pura 70 series to ship more than 10 million units in 2024.
Following the huge success of the Mate 60 Pro, Huawei launched another flagship smartphone, the Pura 70 series, in China on April 18, 2024. The series includes four models: Pura 70, Pura 70 Pro, Pura 70 Pro+, and Pura 70 Ultra. The Pura 70 Pro and Pura 70 Ultra went on sale in China yesterday, and the Pura 70 and Pura 70 Pro+ will go on sale in China on April 21.
The Pura 70 series is the successor to the P series. We think that Huawei changed the name of the sub-series to Pura to be consistent with other sub-series names (such as the Mate and Nova series) and differentiate it from the previous P series. In 2012, Huawei launched the P series for the first time - the Huawei P1. The P9 series launched in 2016 surpassed 10 million units for the first time (total shipments in the year of launch).
In 2018, the P20 series shipped 12.7 million units worldwide; in 2019, the P30 series shipped 15.8 million units worldwide, breaking a record — this is the highest sales volume for the P series. Sales of the P series declined sharply after the US began imposing sanctions in 2019. The P50 series, which debuted in 2021, had only 1.3 million shipments and only a 4G air interface. Similarly, the P60 series, which was launched in 2023, had only 1.8 million shipments.
Figure 1: Huawei P series and Pura 70 shipments (million units)
According to data released by TechInsights' smartphone market research team, the Mate 60 Pro series (including Mate 60 Pro, Mate 60, Mate 60 Pro+, and Mate 60 RS Ultimate) shipped 6.2 million units in China within 5 months (August to December 2023). The Pura 70 series has an earlier launch window and relaxed supply restrictions, and we expect it to ship more than 10 million units in 2024, making it one of Apple's (AAPL.US) iPhone 15 and 16 series major competitors.
Figure 2: Huawei's global smartphone shipments (in millions) and market share
TechInsights predicts that in 2024, Huawei will ship more than 50 million smartphones in China, and its market share will increase dramatically from 12% in 2023 to 19% in 2024, and regain the top position in the Chinese market. Although we don't expect the Pura 70 series to be launched in overseas markets this year, the resilience of the Chinese market will help Huawei rise to the 8th largest smartphone manufacturer in the world with 5% market share.
Huawei's strong rebound in the Chinese smartphone market will put pressure on Apple iPhones. In Q1 2024, the Apple iPhone experienced a double-digit annual decline in the Chinese smartphone market. The launch of the Pura 70 series will increase competition between Apple and Huawei in China, the world's largest smartphone market.