Huawei rides innovation wave to supremacy
dubai — According to initial data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors globally shipped a total of 355.2 million units during Q3 2018, resulting in a year-on-year decline of six per cent. But while industry trends are appearing to lose juice, Huawei shipped 95 million units of smartphones globally in the first half of 2018 alone, growing its shipments despite the downward trend and ascending to second place for two consecutive quarters (Q2 and Q3), with a 14.6 per cent global market share in Q3 2018.
Correspondingly, Huawei earned its rank as the second biggest smartphone vendor in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with a 21.5 per cent market share, according to the Growth from Knowledge (GFK) August 2018 report.
Furthermore, its market share in the UAE in Q3 2018 has increased by 34.7 per cent YOY, which is an indication of the company’s strong performance this year. Huawei focused its efforts on the development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its devices to improve user experience.
It further pushed AI in device strategy where the technology is embedded in the chipset of phones, turning smartphones into intelligent machines. These innovations are a testimony of Huawei’s heavy investment in research and development.
The tech giant has invested $45 billion over the last 10 years and a whopping $13.23 billion last year alone, making it one of the leading companies worldwide in terms of investment in R&D.
This innovative approach to products has enabled Huawei to conquer consumers worldwide and especially in the UAE, where users long for innovative features and products.
In retrospect, Huawei took the UAE market by storm in 2018 — starting with the launch of the Huawei P20 series featuring the world’s first 40MP Leica triple camera, powered by AI, and more recently with the Huawei Mate 20 series. Dubbed as the king of smartphones, the first phase of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro completely sold out in the pre-order phase even before hitting store shelves. The phones sold 10 times more than last year’s Mate 10 series — a refection of the growing demand of Huawei’s flagship products in the UAE.
And to wrap up an outstanding year, Huawei chose the UAE to announce the launch of the limitededition Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS as part of its ongoing collaboration with the luxury brand Porsche Design. The UAE was selected as one of only a few countries to debut this premium smartphone, which is also one of the most expensive smartphones in the market to date.
What attracted users in the UAE to the Huawei Mate 20 series is the pioneering technology: the Huawei Mate 20 Pro features the world’s first Leica wideangle lens in a smartphone as well as the world’s first in-screen fingerprint and the ground-breaking wireless reverse charging feature, which enables the Huawei Mate 20 Pro to charge any other smartphone by placing two phones back to back, as long as it supports QI charging.
Looking to strengthen its presence in the local market, Huawei expanded its presence in the retail space by opening two additional ‘experience stores’ across the UAE, aiming to offer consumers access to its latest products and technology and an excellent opportunity to experience firsthand the latest tech innovation in a futuristic setting.
The brand also plans to invest further and open six additional stores across the country in the near future.
Huawei has a long-standing legacy with Dubai government entities. As part of its objective to enrich people’s lives and bring them together through technology, it cooperated several times with the Dubai government to support the digital transformation agenda as well as community initiatives, with entities such as Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing and Dubai Sports Council.
Conscious of the fact that confidentiality protection is the only way to earn and maintain user’s trust, Huawei’s privacy protection measures extend from the product’s design throughout the entire development process and complies with GAPP principles — the most stringent privacy technology framework in the world — and all requirements are set forth in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
The Huawei Consumer Business Group planned to invest more than $50 million in research and innovation of security technology by the end of 2018 to ensure the continued cyber security of its users. To that end, the company has appointed more than 200 cyber security experts and engineers to work in research centres in China, Germany, Finland, Canada and Singapore, and created over 10 partnerships around the world, including security manufacturers, consulting firms, industry alliances and industry organisations.
In 2018, what differentiated the good from the truly amazing was innovation, which has always been the hallmark of Huawei’s rise to fame.