As Heifeng's last words faded, the stage lights dimmed, and the giant screen behind him began playing a short film shot on the third-generation Harmony X.
In the hush of the night, the footage opened with a faintly suffocating mood. In a hidden corner, Hu Ge wore a black trench coat and a fedora, head lowered as he toyed with a cigarette between his fingers. A flame flared. He lit it, and the camera crept closer, revealing his face in the shadow under the brim. He looked worn-out, and the image was sharp enough that even the pores in his skin showed.
A sudden screech of tires cut through the quiet. A car eased to the curb. A man in a suit stepped out, a pistol clenched in his hand.
Bang.
The gunshot cracked cleanly. Raindrops intensified in the soundtrack, and the scene cut hard to black.
In the venue, the audience seemed to exhale all at once, shaking off the oppressive atmosphere. The clip was under a minute, but it made the point clearly: the third-generation Harmony X's video and low-light capture were genuinely strong.
Applause rolled through the stadium, then swelled.
Heifeng took it in, visibly pleased. "Our phone is top-tier in screen, performance, and photography," he said. "And we didn't slack off on battery life either."
He moved straight into charging and endurance. Other manufacturers watching could not help noticing the same thing. In the flagship tier, the core checklist was always the same: display, performance, camera, battery, system, and service. Huaxing was positioning itself as if it had a credible answer for all of them.
"This year, the third-generation Harmony X still uses 35 W fast charging and supports wireless charging," Heifeng said evenly. "It's paired with a 4,200 mAh battery, more than enough for everyday use."
That line drew a mixed reaction in the audience.
"So it's still last year's charging, no upgrade?"
"Honestly, 35 W is already enough for daily use, and it's still faster than what Mi, Huawei, and Samsung offer."
"Why not compare it to OPPO? OPPO already has 45 W charging."
Heifeng clearly understood the complaint he was going to get. The second-generation Harmony X had already used 35 W fast charging, and some people expected a bigger leap after a full year.
He did not linger. Pushing fast charging higher was hard, and the decision to keep 35 W on the Harmony X line this year was a compromise they had chosen with their eyes open.
"Of course," he continued, as if he had not heard the grumbling, "the third-generation Harmony X still includes everything a flagship should have. You get a complete flagship experience."
Then he shifted to what everyone was actually waiting for.
"This time, our Harmony X series offers four storage configurations," Heifeng said. "And the prices are…"
The numbers appeared behind him, and the stadium erupted.
3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage: ¥4,999 (≈ $694)
3 GB RAM + 64 GB storage: ¥5,299 (≈ $736)
4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage: ¥5,699 (≈ $792)
4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage: ¥5,999 (≈ $833)
It was not just the price. It was what the price implied. The Harmony X3 was not being sold as some unreachable luxury. Compared to rival flagships, it barely looked more expensive, and in some trims, it looked aggressively positioned.
At Mi's headquarters, Lei Jun was watching while sipping tea. When the pricing flashed on-screen, he nearly spat it out.
"Pricing it this low," he muttered, "does Huaxing still have any profit left?"
In his view, a phone with specs like that sold at those prices should not make much money. Mi had spent years cultivating the image of being the industry's "price butcher," but even Lei Jun felt that Huaxing's move looked less like a butcher and more like an executioner.
What he did not know was how different Huaxing's cost structure was. With key parts like processors and screens produced in-house, Huaxing's bill of materials was not what Lei Jun instinctively assumed. Mi could squeeze suppliers and integrate resources, but it still relied on components it did not manufacture. On price, Huaxing had an advantage that was difficult to replicate.
Online and in the venue, excitement spiked immediately.
"Huaxing is insane!"
"This year's Android king is definitely the Harmony X!"
"When does it go on sale? I've got the money ready."
While other brands had pushed flagship prices up, the Harmony X3 landed at essentially the same level as last year. For a lot of buyers, that felt like a win. Plenty of people quietly celebrated the fact that they had resisted buying other flagships and waited.
Then, as the cheering continued, a different kind of comment started surfacing. Some viewers remembered what tonight actually was.
This launch was not only about the Harmony X3. It was the full third-generation Harmony X lineup.
And the Harmony X3 Pro still had not been priced.
"Don't get too excited. The Harmony X3 Pro isn't even up yet."
"If the regular Harmony X3 is already this strong, how strong is the Pro?"
"Wait, I almost forgot. That's the standard model. The upgraded Harmony X3 Pro hasn't been announced."
As the live chat scrolled faster and faster, most viewers came to the same realization: the strongest product in the third-generation Harmony X launch was still the Harmony X3 Pro.