Beijing, Dec 24 (IANS): Smartphone brand Huawei has announced that it has sold over 100 million P series flagship smartphones in total since it launched the Huawei Ascend P1 almost 10 years ago.

Through a blog post in the Huawei Xinsheng online forum -- an online community for Huawei users in China, Wang Yonggang, who is in charge of the development of the Huawei P series flagships, shared the milestones that the company has achieved the 10 years since it launched its first flagship phone, reports GizmoChina.

Huawei first started development for the Huawei Ascend P1 in 2011 and after many months of market research and prototypes, they finally launched the Huawei Ascend P1 in January 2012 with a 4.3 AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP BSI rear camera in a lightweight and 7.6mm unibody, at a flagship price of $471 at the time.

The report mentioned that although the Huawei Ascend P1 was not a bestseller by any metrics, it was Huawei's first step to transition away from a B2B company to a B2C company with its first-ever flagship smartphone for the Chinese public.

Meanwhile, the company has recently unveiled a clamshell-style folding smartphone -- P50 Pocket -- that comes with a circular, 1-inch external display for quick access to notifications and widgets.

The device has been launched in China, though US sanctions (which mean Huawei can't use key tech like Google's Android OS) mean the P50 Pocket won't make any impact in the West.

It is Huawei's third foldable phone, but it is first to use a clamshell design, the report said.

When unfolded, the Pocket's OLED screen is 6.9-inches in size, with a 21:9 ratio and 120Hz refresh rate.