If we knew that it would be complicated for Huawei to become a smartphone giant again, we now have the impression that they don’t really want it anymore. The latest product presentation and statements from the president in Europe seem to confirm all this.
If you were looking for a sign to finally convince you of that Huawei has thrown in the towel on its smartphones, at least unofficially, the latest presentation from the Chinese giant would do the trick.
In a nearly 45-minute conference, just 12 minutes and 27 seconds were spent on this formerly flagship universe for the manufacturer. In this short time it is only one smartphone that was presented. Moreover, a phone that will probably not be bought by anyone: foldable, without Google, and all for the extravagant price of 2000 euros.
A conference dominated by watches
The remainder of the conference focused on an industry that is now much more vibrant for the company banned from the US market, the wearables and more generally the themes of health and well-being. Five products from this field were presented, three watches, a connected bracelet, an activity tracker.
Huawei also appears to be looking for new growth engines on the subscription sales side. At the software level, the manufacturer presented its future sports support service by subscription, Huawei Health +, currently reserved for Germany and Italy.
An economic situation at half mast
Faced with these claims, you might think that when Apple dedicates a conference to Macs, we’re not saying that the Apple brand is abandoning iPhones. Sure, but Huawei is in a very complicated situation and it is certain that it will have to find new outlets: in 2021, its turnover has fallen by 28.6%. Sales in China also fell by 31% last year. A decline this time explained not by the absence of Google services – unusable in China – but by smartphones now being marketed without 5G compatibility.
Furthermore, Huawei itself says that smartphones are no longer a priority, even if they don’t feel ready to throw in the towel yet:
William Tiann, Huawei’s president for Europe, said in Milan during a meeting with the press at which: frandroid assisted: “As you know, we have a hard time with smartphones. […] We’ll focus more on the home office and wearables, but we won’t leave the smartphone business. †
Among the concerns that Huawei smartphones face in the European market is often the absence of a 5G modem on phones that are sold for an expensive price anyway, as well as a degraded software experience without Google.
HarmonyOS and 5G is no
Asked about the return of the 5G on his phones, the director first made it clear that: “Huawei has the best Wi-Fi and wireless connection technology. Huawei is also always open to cooperate to obtain all components, including 5G chipsets”without being able to communicate a step-by-step plan. As for the arrival ofHarmonyOS on his phones, which could offer a real alternative to Android, the manager also fell for it, but in a more direct way: “we don’t currently plan to release phones with HarmonyOS this year”while for the sake of form it is specified that the last folder, the Size XS 2 has some specific HarmonyOS features.
As you will have understood, between these statements and the presentation that is almost entirely focused on wearables, there is every reason to think that Huawei no longer really considers the smartphone as a priority. There’s plenty to understand them, let’s face it.
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