New Huawei Handset Selling Fast in China as Chip Speculation Swirls

Demand for the Mate 60 Pro surges amid speculation the tech giant has developed a 5G system chip, overcoming U.S. sanctions

Huawei put the Mate 60 Pro up for sale at 6,999 yuan ($962) on Aug. 29, selling out on its official site that same night. Photo: VCG

Chinese consumers have been buying Huawei’s latest flagship smartphone faster than stores can keep up with online and in some parts of the country, sources tell Caixin, amid mounting speculation the telecom giant has been able to weather U.S. sanctions.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. began shipping the new Mate 60 Pro Sunday, several people familiar with the matter told Caixin, five days after the phone’s discreet launch. A number of distributors told Caixin on Monday that the Mate 60 Pro had immediately sold out upon delivery.

“The stock we got on Sunday was gone immediately. It was only enough to fulfill around 20% of preorders,” one distributor in Chongqing told Caixin.

A number of Huawei’s authorized outlets were unable to even get their hands on a display model of the Mate 60 Pro, one employee at such a store said. They said the store received less than 20 of the new smartphones on Sunday, and there are still dozens of customers waiting for their new phones to arrive.