Huawei unveiled new flagship smartphones with novel smart camera and video features on Tuesday, as it seeks to sustain its momentum with price-conscious consumers.

The Chinese company, which overtook Apple this year to become the No. 2 smartphone maker by units – behind S. Korea's Samsung – introduced its Mate 20 phone series using Leica camera technology.

The new line-up includes the Mate 20, with list prices ranging from 799-849 euros (925-983 US dollars), depending on memory configuration.

The new phones include a new ultra-wide angle lens, as well as a 3x telephoto lens and a macro that shoots objects as close as 2.5 centimeters (one inch).

Mate P20 models take advantage of artificial intelligence features built into Huawei's own Kirin chipsets.

Features available to Mate 20 users include being able to isolate human subjects and desaturate the colors around them in order to highlight people against their backgrounds.

Huawei incorporates bigger light-sensing chips than rival phones to take better pictures in low-light conditions.

Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza said that in a highly commoditized smartphone market of look-alike phones, Huawei is managing to differentiate itself with camera and personalization features.

“With the Mate 20, Huawei is setting the bar for what users can expect from photography using a smartphone,” Cozza said.

The Chinese phone maker managed to surpass Apple to take the No. 2 spot in the second quarter, industry data shows, despite being effectively excluded from the US market.

The new premium phone line-up from the world's biggest telecom equipment maker includes four models, the Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X, with a 7.2-inch display screen, and a Porsche Design limited edition phone.

Out of surprise, HMD Global launched the latest smartphone Nokia X7 for the Chinese market on the same day with Huawei, the No. 2 smartphone maker by units this year.

Nokia X7 has a 6.18-inch 1080p LCD notched display with 86.5 percent screen-to-body ratio, which is called as PureDisplay and is the biggest display in Nokia Android smartphones. 

It is powered by a Qualcomm's top-end Snapdragon 710 processor, coupled with 64GB and 128GB storage options with 4GB or 6GB of RAM, respectively. 

Compared with X5 and X6, the most obvious highlight of Nokia X7 is its Zeiss cameras which could make a perfect performance in night shot. It includes a main 12-megapixel sensor with f/1.8 aperture plus OIS and a secondary 13-megapixel sensor for fixed focus. Chinese netizens said it could compete with Huawei's Leica triple camera. On the front, Nokia X7 is equipped with a single 20-megapixel selfie camera with AI enhancements.

It has several color options, including blue, red, silver and black. Starting price is at 245 US dollars, which is more affordable for Chinese consumers.

"When mentioning Nokia, everyone's impression has always been stuck in the era of feature phones ten years ago. We really want to change their impression on Nokia." Xu Lixin, vice-president of HMD Greater China said at the press conference. 

The Nokia X7 is expected to launch as Nokia 7.1 Plus outside of China.

(With input from Reuters)