Photo:Screenshot of Huawei online event on March 26, 2020

Huawei released its latest 5G P40 phone models, including the P40 pro and P40 pro+, in Paris during an online event on Thursday, shaking off the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impact and intensified crackdown efforts from the US over the past year. 

Powered by the self-developed Kirin 990 5G chip, and supporting 5G and Wi-Fi 6 Plus, the latest phone series features an updated camera that aims to rival Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra and the iPhone 11 Pro.

Huawei's latest P40 release is priced at 799 euros ($876.63), while the P40 pro and pro+ will retail for 999 euros ($1,100) and 1,399 euros ($1,543) respectively.

The P series models come with an updated Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) ecosystem and new apps, the firm's replacement for Google's GMS service, amid last year's US-driven crackdown.  

Available in more than 170 countries and regions, HMS has over 4 million monthly active users and more than 1.3 million developers and partners globally, Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said during the launch event. 

Industry analysts said the launch might help push Huawei's phone shipments in the short term and even surpass those of rival Apple, whose supply woes linger as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread. 

However, still under pressure of a potential US ban, the Chinese tech giant has also been affected by COVID-19 and it's not clear whether they will face a shortage of key components. 

Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that the pandemic has prompted the firm to lower financial targets for 2020, but it still plans to increase its research and development budget by $5.8 billion, pushing it to $20 billion, this year.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Industry and Security under the US Department of Commerce announced it would lengthen the public comment period on Huawei's Temporary General License (TGL) extensions - a license that allows US companies to continue doing business with Huawei - through April 22.

On February 14, the US issued the fourth extension for Huawei, delaying its supplies ban until May 15, after being added to a US economic blacklist in May last year, citing US national security concerns.