Huawei's Mate 60 Pro launch fails to excite

Huawei Technologies launched more than seven new products yesterday, including the Ultimate Design version of its Mate 60 RS, which is priced up to 12,999 yuan (HK$13,919).

The other products include a series of wearable devices, such as smart watches, glasses, and earbuds, as well as a new tablet.

The tech giant, however, disappointed viewers by not revealing more details about its new Mate 60 smartphone series, prompting an outpouring of complaints online.

Held in a stadium and watched by millions online, the event was expected to see Huawei break its silence on the smartphone, which has been hailed by Chinese state media as a sign the firm had overcome US sanctions since 2019, which cut its access to advanced chip-making tools and crippled its smartphone unit.

The smartphone was launched without any fanfare last month during US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's visit to China. Some users and analysts who bought the Mate 60 Pro say it uses a Chinese-made chip and is capable of 5G speeds.

Huawei has so far not commented on the full capabilities of the Mate 60 series, which is seen as its first major effort since the sanctions to challenge Apple's dominance in the smartphone market.

It came as China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it condemned the US government's irresponsible behavior after a report by China's Ministry of State Security accusing the US of hacking Huawei's servers since 2009.

Separately, Apple plans to increase production in India more than five-fold within the next five years, the Press Trust of India reported, citing government officials who were not identified.

The company surpassed US$7 billion (HK$54.6 billion) production in the country in the last financial year and is aiming for US$40 billion, the same official said.