According to a research company, Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) has sold 1.6 million of its Mate 60 Pro smartphones in the past six weeks. The Chinese technology giant defies a downturn in the smartphone industry to benefit from robust demand for its high-end smartphone resurrection.
More than 400,000 of those sales—during which Apple (AAPL.O) introduced the iPhone 15 on the mainland—took place in the previous two weeks, according to Counterpoint Research.
Sales of the iPhone 15 fell 4.5% in its first 17 days compared to the iPhone 14, according to Counterpoint, which did not provide exact data.
A request for a response from Huawei was not immediately complied with. Despite years of U.S. technological restrictions against the corporation, Huawei launched the premium Mate 60 Pro phone as a surprise in late August. According to several analysts, the phone employs a locally built processor, representing a breakthrough.
As soon as supply becomes available, it is quickly snapped up, “creating the appearance of perpetual unavailability,” according to Counterpoint Senior Analyst Ivan Lam. The device has been in great demand.
Due to weak demand for popular brands, the global smartphone market shrank 8% to its lowest third-quarter level in a decade.
The only companies with year-over-year growth at that time were Huawei, its former subsidiary Honor, and Transsion Group.
According to the China Academy of Information and Communications (CAICT), smartphone shipments in China for August were practically unchanged, increasing 0.03% year over year to 18.99 million devices.
