BEIJING, September 15 (AsianFin)— Huawei Technologies’ latest flagship smartphone could generate far more than expected even though Chinese tech giant hasn’t officially launch it yet.

Credit：Visual China

Mate 60 series, Huawei’s new flagship that went on sale recently, had much better performance in the market than expectation, and the overall sales are expected to be around 20 million, Chinese digital news media outlet The Paper cited an industry insider. The people said the current long delivery cycle of the smartphone reflects relatively strong demand as well as lacking of stocking since the supply chain didn’t estimate the sales boom. Huawei’s dealership seems more optimistic about Mate 60 sales. If production capacity is sufficient, global sales of the Mate60 series are expected to reach 50 million units, way more than the nearly 10 million units of the Mate 50 series sales, The Paper noted a Huawei dealer said.

All the Mate 60 series are out of stock, either online or offline, Chinese tech news website IThome reported. Workers at many Huawei retail stores said the smartphone will be available as early as October, and customers could even have to wait for two months to receive the phone they ordered, according to the report. Shipment of Mate 60 Pro and Mate 60 Pro Plus are raised to 20 million units, the report quoted industry chain sources.

Huawei was recently said to officially launch a comprehensive program to return to the smartphone market, buoyed by the best-selling Mate 60 series. In response to the recent news, Huawei told the state-backed newspaper Securities Daily that the new mobile will initially focus on domestic market. The paper also learned that Huawei has raised shipment target in the second half of the year for Mate 60 by 20% as sales of the flagship were stronger than the company’s expectation. Huawei was reported to deliver at least 40 million units of new smartphone this year.

The news highlighted how booming Mate 60 sales are even though Huawei has not released details about these smartphones.Huawei announced Thursday it will hold an official launch event on September 25. While the company didn’t reveal what products will be released, Mate 60 series, the phone that generated buzz among Chinese customers, is undoubtedly on the spotlight. The event may reveal details about the reported 5G chip. In addition to the Mate60 series and Mate X5, the industry expects that Huawei will launch more new products such as tablets, smart watches, smart screens, headphones, the state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News reported. The high-end version of the Mate60 series that has not yet been unveiled is also expected to roll out at the event.

Huawei surprisingly launched a presale for Mate 60 Pro priced at RMB6,999 (US$960) on August 29 even though it has not officially released the model. The low-profile presale turned out such a success that the first batch of the phone sold out within hours, igniting fervor for Huawei’s 5G comeback in China.

While Huawei didn’t provide details about technical specifications or whether the phone supports the 5G network, Chinese media outlets said online tests proved Mate 60 Pro can deliver the internet speed of 5G. Multiple reports attributed Mate 60’s 5G connectivity to Kirin 9000s chipset, which was deemed as evidence that Huawei managed to defy years of U.S. sanctions. Although the network speed test tool displays 4G LTE network, actual test results surpass the theoretical limit of 150Mbps, reaching over 800Mbps, fully meeting 5G network speed standards.

A week after Mate 60 Pro debut, Huawei initiated pre-orders for new models including the Mate X5 and the Mate 60 Pro Plus. Online shoppers can place their orders with a deposit of RMB1,000 for each mobile, and the device is expected to be delivered by October 9. Without any prior advertising, sales of new models highlighted strong demand. Huawei started one-time sales for Mate X5 with the starting price of RMB12,999 on Thursday. Shanghai Securities News found the smartphone was sold out within seconds at Huawei online marketplace.