Huawei shows smartphone revolution has not run its course

IT is a common view that the smartphone revolution is grinding to a halt as manufacturers reach the end of the innovation road. There is only so much technology that can be built into a handset, and only so many ways to differentiate one from the other. That, goes the argument, is why all handsets have similar features.

But it is an argument that does not take into account the fierce competition that still drives the smartphone market, and the impact that competition has on innovation.

At this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, new smartphones were launched by almost every major handset maker, aside from Apple and Samsung. The former unveils its new models in September every year, while the latter has delayed the launch of the new Galaxy S8 by a month. Few noticed, so aggressive was the push by rivals.

Huawei, LG, Sony, Lenovo, Nokia, BlackBerry, Alcatel and Hisense all unveiled new phones. Almost all offered something new to the smartphone experience. The underlying message: you do not have to be the market leader to surprise the market.

Huawei is expected to be the big winner from Samsung’s delay. Previously, it had introduced a new flagship phone every 12 months, two to three months after MWC, whereas Samsung had dominated proceedings for the past few years. By bringing forward its launch and reducing the refresh cycle for its flagship to 10 months, it demonstrated how rapidly it could both innovate and bring new products to market.

This speed to market is likely to see it maintain the astonishing growth that has propelled it to the No 3 position in global smartphone sales. In 2015, it sold 108 million handsets, up 44% on the year before. In 2016, it grew 30% more, selling 139 million devices. Kevin Ho, president of the company’s handset business, said Huawei increased sales in Africa by 50% last year, largely driven by entry-level smartphones.

The early launch of the P10 and P10+, along with its emerging positioning as hi-tech leader, is likely to boost the entire Huawei range. The positioning will be enhanced by cuttingedge design. It describes its P series phones as “art and technology fusion”. It worked closely with Pantone, the colour authority, to create shades that would combine with sandblast and diamond-cut finishes to give the phones an allure based on their design.

For hardware innovation, it collaborated with Leica to build its lenses into the front of Huawei phones, making them the most advanced “selfie cameras” in the world. New software was developed to introduce a Portrait mode for professional studio-like effects to be added after a photo has been taken. This prompted Huawei to market the phone as “a studio in your pocket”.

The P10 phones also introduce an Apple-like single button in the front, rather than the standard strip of Android navigation icons. As with the iPhone, the button is a fingerprint sensor and a home button. It has further functionality built in, activating click-back or multitasking by swiping a finger left or right on the button.

There was still a long innovation runway available to Huawei, said Ho. “For the future, we plan not only hardware and software upgrades, but also to upgrade the consumer experience. We are co-operating with leading suppliers in the world to find the best technology for each device.”

Goldstuck is the founder of World Wide Worx and editor-inchief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter @art2gee