Huawei launches Mate 70 smartphone as new US chip curbs loom

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) -Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies unveiled its Mate 70 smartphone series on Tuesday, advancing its comeback in the premium smartphone space while showcasing its own operating system in a clean break away from U.S. technology.

The phone marks the “the most powerful Mate phone ever”, Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, said at an event in the company’s hometown of Shenzhen.

The Mate 70 is first mainstream smartphone to include a satellite paging system, has an improved processor and runs on Huawei’s homegrown HarmonyOS Next (LON:NXT) operating system, Yu said.

The launch comes as the U.S. is expected to announce new export controls that could add up to 200 Chinese chip companies to a trade blacklist as soon as this week, restricting their access to U.S. suppliers, Reuters reported on Saturday.

Huawei does not typically discuss its chip advancements at product launch events, with improvements usually discovered by teardown firms later.