Smartphone makers are increasingly looking to create their own chips as AI capabilities become more prevalent. Apple, for example, has its own A11 bionic chip in its latest iPhones.
Huawei has moved extremely fast with its phone business, and analysts said the latest devices show it is catching up to market leaders Apple and Samsung.
“The Mate series has been their flagship series, they are trying to bring more AI baked into the phone like what Apple is trying to do with iPhone X,” Neil Shah, research director of devices and ecosystems at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC over the phone.
“It shows that the rate of R&D (research and development) and commercialization is very fast, and Huawei has caught up to Apple. Huawei is launching the Mate 10 with AI chip ahead of the iPhone. It is a commendable achievement.”
Huawei has priced the Mate 10 at 699 euros ($825) and the Mate 10 Pro at 799 euros ($943) — around the same cost as Apple’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
The Chinese company has its sights set on being number one in the smartphone market. It sits fractionally behind Apple in third place in terms of market share, but Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at market research firm IDC, said Huawei could overtake its U.S. rival in smartphones this year.
