Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro Demonstrates Impressive Wireless Speeds Comparable to Apple iPhones

Despite US tech sanctions, Huawei Technologies Co.’s latest smartphone has been labeled a Chinese breakthrough as more information emerges about the device. In various tests, the smartphone showcases wireless speeds comparable to Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones.

Bloomberg News’ testing of Huawei’s new $900+ flagship model shows bandwidth similar to other 5G phones. This matches blog posts and videos posted on Chinese social media claiming the device has 5G capabilities.

The device, which went on sale this week without the typical fanfare of a product launch, drew patriotic fervor as it was seen as representing China’s ability to circumvent US sanctions. Shenzhen-based Huawei has been at the center of a U.S. crackdown on trade by Chinese companies, which U.S. officials say is based on national security.

The Mate 60 Pro achieved over 350 Mbps, or megabits per second, when tested on China Mobile Ltd’s network in Hong Kong. Videos posted to social service Weibo showed the phone approaching 1 Gbps, or gigabits per second.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

Huawei’s new 5G chip that powers its recently released Mate 60 smartphone is likely to be made by SMIC. This is a milestone in China’s semiconductor development. However, we expect limited financial upside for SMIC in 2024 given production yield challenges and material constraints.

– Charles Shum and Sean Chen, analysts

Click here for the survey.

It’s still unclear what chips Huawei used in the phone, which is a critical component for wireless connectivity.

Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein, including Mark Li, said the bursts suggest the speeds were achieved with advanced compression and other measures that can lead to excess power consumption. The cost of the chips may be higher than comparable silicon available outside of China, but Huawei can simply absorb the extra cost, they wrote.

Berenberg analysts Tammy Qiu and Meha Pau said they believe top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. has produced a radio chip based on 14nm or more advanced technology.

Huawei said the Mate 60 Pro is “the most powerful Mate model ever,” but declined to comment on the processor’s specifications or where and when it was manufactured. Its user interface built on Huawei’s in-house Harmony operating system omits to mention the wireless standard.