Earlier this month, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei’s Chief Executive Officer Chengdong Yu showed a brand new sapphire glass cover smartphone during a press conference, according to a Chinese-language TechWeb report.

Yu asked reporters to scratch up the smartphone screen, which he claimed is equipped with sapphire glass cover. Reporters noted the smartphone had a similar appearance to Ascend P7, and market rumors pointed out the phone was an upgraded P7S version.

Huawei's rumored  Ascend P7S sapphire glass cover smartphone as shown on the company CEO Chengdong Yu's Weibo account. (Photo Courtesy of Huawei CEO Chengdong Yu)

“We have benefited from early deployment of market strategies to secure sapphire supplies in the industry supply chain,” Yu wrote on his Weibo account. “We have been able to use the dual sapphire glass design in our P7 and stay ahead of competitors in the launch of sapphire glass cover phones.”

This indicates the company will be using sapphire glass covers in its new Vivo X5L model phones, which will become the first smartphone model in China to incorporate the robust glass material. The company also announced incorporating sapphire glass cover in the Mate 7 on Aug. 22, 2014, but no further information has been released since. It is expected the new sapphire glass P7 will come with a higher price tag, but Yu has not announced the launch date or price yet.

It seems at least in the Chinese sapphire glass cover smartphone market, P7, Vivo X5L and iPhone 6 will be engaged in intense competition.