Consumers line up outside a Huawei flagship store on September 3, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of  Huawei

Huawei officially kicked off online sales for its latest flagship Mate 60 Pro on Sunday, marking a major step for the high-end smartphone to hit the mass domestic market as public expectations and demand for the device remain high.

The move immediately triggered a buying spree among Chinese people, with long queues seen appearing at Huawei stores across major Chinese cities on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Chinese tech giant, unexpectedly, announced the start of preorders for the smartphone, which industry analysts speculate is using a made-in-China 5G capable chipset. 

Huawei has been low key about the advanced chip, but observers, industry players and netizens believe the unexpected launch highlights the country's capability of conducting independent technological research and development despite US sanctions.

Consumers who have preordered Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphones have been notified that they can go to the stores to pick up the phone at 18:08 pm on Sunday. And, an online notice seen on the sales pages of major e-commerce platforms such as Huawei Mall, Taobao and JD.com, said that sales of Huawei Mate 60 Pro will begin at the same time, the Global Times learned.

As of 19:10 pm on Sunday, the new phone already sold out on Taobao.com and JD.com.

"It is now a more 'presentable' gift than iPhone, with people who use it basking in national pride," a Beijing-based white-collar worker surnamed Long, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Long already grabbed one Mate 60 Pro online, and the phone will arrive in 10-15 days.

Washington has restricted Huawei from buying advanced 5G chips and software from US companies since 2019, which dealt a heavy blow to its high-end smartphone business and left it only able to launch limited batches of 5G models using stockpiled chips.

Some industry analysts predicted the strong comeback could mark a turning point for Huawei's smartphone businesses, while a pre-release may also aim to achieve the first-mover advantage in competing with Apple, which is set to launch its iPhone 15 series on September 12.

Global Times