Huawei challenging smartphone giants

Chinese company Huawei is aiming to become the world’s top mobile phone supplier. Photo: Reuters
Chinese company Huawei is aiming to become the world’s top mobile phone supplier. Photo: Reuters
Huawei challenging smartphone giantsHuawei last year launched a phone which reviewers mostly rated much higher than Apple’s latest iPhone. The Chinese company is planning to launch an even more spectacular device next month. Business editor  Dene Mackenzie looks at Huawei’s market prospects.

Chinese company Huawei has improved its smartphones every year and it is now at a point where it is challenging the established names of Apple and Samsung.

Although there is resistance in the United States market to Chinese companies, the new Huawei P11 is expected to gain traction because of a planned link with large carrier AT&T.

Unconfirmed schematics reveal what could be Huawei’s plan for the P10 successor. It will be called P20 for one, and the Huawei P20 will come in at least three versions. The top model of the three will sport a notch, similar to the iPhone X.

Its screen bezels are nearly non-existent: all except the bottom one are razor thin. The fingerprint reader is on the back, below the camera, and the top bezel features a notch to accommodate the earpiece, selfie camera and sensors.

Huawei has already demonstrated its own FaceID-like tech that company officials say will be better than Apple.

In New Zealand, Huawei last year launched the  Mate 10 which the Otago Daily Times trialled over a three-week period.

The device had an improved design on earlier models, had a clever fingerprint scanner this user could finally use and an easy-to-use portrait mode on the phone.

Although overseas reviews found the battery life was not good, this reviewer found the battery life to be outstanding. Admittedly, the phone did not get heavy use each day but it was used for social media, texting, photographs and email.

The Mate 10 was not cheap, with prices ranging from $789 to more than $1000, depending on the type of device and the vendor. It could be bought on a time payment plan on a two-year contract with main providers.

The fingerprint scanner was the highlight of the phone. It sits just below the screen and although it looks like a home key on my Samsung 8 phone, there is no button you can press down.

It took some practice to get used to using the fingerprint sensor to navigate between screens and apps.

After a long time use of Samsung phones, it took this reviewer about a week to master the phone, although not all the functions were used. Like others, I suffered a bit of frustration until I mastered the functions which allowed me to change apps without heading back to an internet browser.

The Mate 10 Pro offered an industry-leading camera, premium aesthetics, an OLED display and great hardware.

The phone is as fast as you would expect from a top-end device.

A Huawei 2i, costing about $499, was also reviewed. This phone does not feel like a mid-range phone. It is bigger than expected but it is a quality device which New Zealanders may lean towards as prices for the top Apple and Samsung smartphones continue to go close to $2000.

Now, Huawei is promising a flagship smartphone to be released next month, probably at the Mobile World Congress which is confirmed for the last week of February.The company has revealed the new Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro phablets, suggesting the company is set to stick with its normal schedule.

Recent comments by Huawei executives make a congress launch seem more likely than ever, overseas technology websites are reporting.

The new Huawei P11, or P20, is likely to have tiny bezels, a fingerprint scanner  and three cameras on the back.

The leaks about the P11 cameras have been few but technology writers suggest the Leica partnership is set to continue and there will be some large changes to both the front and rear cameras.

One of the problems for Huawei is the crowded marketplace. Although no-one keeps a device forever, it is harder to get them to switch brands than get them to upgrade from a previous version. Customers know what they can expect from their preferred brand and are not comfortable getting surprises.

Even worse, once they change and spend $2000 on a new branded device, it is not easy to walk away from those purchases.

Huawei does not do a lot of advertising and New Zealanders may find it hard to track down the phone without some hints on what it can do and where it can be bought.

The next big launch, probably at the same time as a new Samsung product, could be the global test for the Chinese brand. 

dene.mackenzie@odt.co.nz

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