When a Chinese and a German Fall in Love
The partnership that everyone is talking about, and its first stunning output
WHEN YOU SCRUTINISE THE HISTORY OF A BRAND, you can always pinpoint the particular moment when it becomes more than just a company, when it transcends the industry and is enshrined in popular culture. Nike might have ran its first Just Do It television spot in 1988, which featured an 80-year-old Walt Stack running across the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was the signing of Michael Jordan and his subsequent success that immortalised the brand. Apple might have garnered plaudits for the egg-shaped iMac G3 when it was released in 1998 but it was the introduction of the iPod, and the dancing commercials, that cemented the Cupertino giant’s iconic status.
The Huawei P9 and P9 Plus smartphones might just be the products that finally make the world stand up and take notice of the Chinese telecommunications company. Such a proclamation might be a tad hyperbolic but after having had the chance to use the P9 for a few weeks, it’s become clear to me that Huawei is gaining a lot of ground. The two giants, Samsung and Apple, have good reason to keep an eye on their rear view mirrors. Pull up a chair, Huawei. I reckon you’ll be in this game for some time.
AN UNLIKELY HISTORIC COLLABORATION
“In a world where we constantly peer through the lens of our mobile phone cameras, the P9 will change the way we see the world and the way the world sees Huawei,” proclaimed Henry Hsu, chief operating officer for the Chinese brand’s consumer business division, during the launch event in London. Hsu’s confidence is well-founded, especially since Huawei partnered with German imaging behemoth Leica for the P9’s camera.
The collaboration has been three years in the making, according to Li Changzhu, vicepresident of Huawei’s smartphone product line. “We needed to get familiar with each other, to fall in love and finally marry,” Li said with a laugh.
And just like any marriage, there were minor disagreements like the position of the Leica logo, the proportion and contrast of the German brand’s name relative to the phone and other seemingly inconsequential design decisions that might mean nothing to you and me, but everything to two partners in it for the long haul. Divorces, after all, can be messy and expensive. At the moment though, Huawei and Leica are very much in love.
Li revealed that the P9 and P9 Plus are just the first of many smartphones that will feature Leica’s cameras, its famous engineering and the company’s signature imaging style. “The P series and the [flagship] Mate range will have the camera technology of Leica. It’ll only be the premium lines though. This is because in my personal opinion, we must always consider the value for money and more importantly, the money for value.”
I asked Li why Leica’s iconic red dot was not etched onto the P9 phones. He smiled and said, “I wanted the red dot on the phone. Unfortunately Leica has sophisticated specifications that made it impossible.”