Huawei targets global comeback with Mate 80 Pro smartphone, new smartwatch

Huawei Technologies is aiming for a major international comeback, with the overseas release of its latest flagship smartphone, the Mate 80 Pro, alongside a new smartwatch and the addition of a “wheelchair mode” to its wearable devices.

Powered by the company’s self-designed, China-made Kirin 9030 Pro processor, the overseas version of its Mate 80 Pro handsets will run on the Android-based EMUI 15 operating system, Huawei announced at a launch event in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday.

While the domestic version of the Mate 80 Pro runs on Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS, the overseas model, priced at 1,299 euros (US$1,533), shares the same in-house system-on-a-chip, which the company touted as its most advanced for handsets.

The overseas roll-out of the Mate 80 Pro, which was launched in China in November, marked the Shenzhen-based tech giant’s comeback with its bar-type Mate models in the international market, four years after its launch of the Mate 50 series in 2022.

In 2025, Huawei edged out Apple to reclaim the No 1 spot in mainland China’s smartphone market, capturing a 16.4 per cent share to narrowly beat the iPhone maker’s 16.2 per cent, according to data from research firm IDC in January.