Smartphone "Annual Flagship Battle": Huawei Mate70 Series Draws Attention, HarmonyOS Native Ecosystem Gears Up

Smartphone "Annual Flagship Battle": Huawei Mate70 Series Draws Attention, HarmonyOS Native Ecosystem Gears UpAs the fourth quarter approaches, the "annual flagship battle" in the smartphone industry has begun. Top mobile phone brands such as Huawei, vivo, OPPO, and Honor have all released new flagship phones in October, leading to fierce competition

Smartphone "Annual Flagship Battle": Huawei Mate70 Series Draws Attention, HarmonyOS Native Ecosystem Gears Up

As the fourth quarter approaches, the "annual flagship battle" in the smartphone industry has begun. Top mobile phone brands such as Huawei, vivo, OPPO, and Honor have all released new flagship phones in October, leading to fierce competition. Among them, the Huawei Mate70 series has drawn significant attention and is expected to be officially released in November.

Huawei Mate70 Series Highly Anticipated

Earlier, there were market rumors that Foxconn was manufacturing high-end flagship models for the Huawei Mate70 series, but Foxconn issued a risk warning announcement clarifying that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zhongnong Communications, was not involved in manufacturing the Huawei Mate70 series. Nevertheless, the Huawei Mate70 series remains a focus of market attention, as it will be equipped with the new native HarmonyOS and is expected to deliver enhanced performance and innovative features.

While the Huawei Mate70 series is yet to be officially launched, related information has circulated within the industry chain. It is understood that the Huawei Mate70 series is tentatively scheduled for release in November, and native HarmonyOS application adaptation is underway.

Rapid Development of the HarmonyOS Native Ecosystem

Huawei began building the HarmonyOS native ecosystem in September last year, and the results of its year-long efforts are about to be seen. Huawei will unveil the new developments of the native HarmonyOS at the Native HarmonyOS Night and Huawei Full-Scenario New Product Launch on October 22nd. Gong Ti, President of Huawei's Consumer BG Software Department, revealed that the number of people who have signed up for the HarmonyOS phone and tablet public beta has exceeded one million, and there are now hundreds of thousands of users using the HarmonyNEXT operating system in practice.

Huawei's goal is to support commercialization of HarmonyNEXT in the fourth quarter of this year and predicts that the total number of native HarmonyOS applications will exceed 100,000 by the end of the year. Gong Ti also mentioned that smart office, smart home, smart travel, sports health, and audio-visual entertainment are the five key scenarios to be developed, and intelligent, spatial, and terminal integration are the key directions for future evolution and development.

Other Phone Brands Release New Flagships

In addition to Huawei, other phone brands have also released new flagship phones in October. The vivo X200 series was launched on October 14th, and its pre-sale volume across all series on the first day was 150% higher than that of its previous generation. The design of the OPPO Find X8 series was unveiled on October 16th, and pre-orders have officially begun, with the official release scheduled for October 24th. The new generation of Honor's flagship Magic7 series will be officially launched on October 30th, featuring the MagicOS 9.0 system.

It is worth mentioning that AI intelligent agents have become one of the biggest highlights of new flagship phones from various brands. vivo has already showcased "PhoneGPT," a mobile intelligent agent, and the Honor Magic7 series will also be equipped with AIAgent (intelligent agent).

Smartphone Market Continues to Grow

IDC data shows that global smartphone shipments reached 316.1 million units in the third quarter of 2024, a 4.0% year-on-year increase, marking five consecutive quarters of growth. According to previous estimates, global shipments in 2024 are expected to increase by 5.8% year-on-year to 1.23 billion units. Generative AI smartphones will achieve a 344% growth, accounting for 18% of the entire market.

Conclusion

The fourth quarter of 2024 has witnessed intense competition in the smartphone industry, with various brands launching new flagship phones. The Huawei Mate70 series has attracted considerable attention, as it will be equipped with the new native HarmonyOS and is expected to deliver enhanced performance and innovative features. Meanwhile, the HarmonyOS native ecosystem is rapidly developing, with an anticipated total of over 100,000 native HarmonyOS applications by the end of the year. In the future, the smartphone market will continue to grow, and generative AI smartphones will become a significant trend.