Huawei CEO confirms full-screen display on upcoming Mate 10, as company reports Q2 results, and says it is giving up on very low-end devices
It aims to ship as many as 150 million smartphones in 2017 — The Chinese firm chalked up $42 billion in first-half revenue
Context & Ripple Effects
This report lands at a pivot point in Huawei's phone business: alongside $42 billion in first-half revenue and a 150-million-unit 2017 shipment goal, the CEO is simultaneously confirming a full-screen display for the Mate 10 and abandoning very low-end devices — a deliberate trade of entry-level volume for flagship credibility.
The arc since then validates the bet. A year later Huawei had already shipped 100 million units by mid-July (its 2018 pace), en route to a 200 million target, and the premium push eventually produced the ~$2,400 Mate X foldable. By 2024 the company was reporting six straight quarters of revenue growth ahead of the Mate 70 launch (Q2 revenue up 33.7% YoY) — though with net profit down 18.6%, showing the cost of staying premium.
First-order effects
- Huawei's product lineup thins from the bottom immediately: buyers of its cheapest phones lose an option as the company reallocates engineering and marketing toward the full-screen Mate 10 and other mid-to-premium models carrying the 150 million-unit 2017 target.
Second-order effects
- Exiting very low-end devices raises Huawei's average selling price and margin mix, which is what made the aggressive volume goals of subsequent years — 153 million units sold in 2017, then 200 million targeted for 2018 — achievable without chasing unprofitable handsets.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Huawei consolidates around a flagship-led identity — full-screen Mate 10, then the Mate X foldable, then the Mate 70 cycle — where brand positioning and per-device profitability matter more than unit share at the bottom of the market.
The trend: Huawei has spent the years since this report climbing from a volume-driven handset maker into a premium flagship brand, using each Mate generation to move upmarket while shedding the low end.