Was Huawei’s anticipated new phone worth the wait?

▶ Chinese operator is No 2 in global sales and is on track to ship 200 million devices this year

Huawei, the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, which launched its new Mate 20 Series in London on Tuesday, expects revenue from smartphones to increase by double-digits in 2019.

Last year, Huawei shipped nearly 153 million handsets worldwide. By the end of this year, it is on track to deliver 200 million units, a boost of almost 30 per cent as it targets growth mainly in Europe and China, said Kevin Ho, president of the handset product line at Huawei.

The smartphone giant generated 325.7 billion Chinese yuan (Dh172.6bn) in revenue globally in the first half of this year, an increase of 15 per cent over a year earlier. The company’s operating margin was 14 per cent during the first half of 2018.

“In the smartphone segment we are looking forward to increasing the sales revenue by at least 20 per cent in 2019 compared with this year,” Mr Ho said. “Our new Mate 20 Series is going to facilitate this.”

Across the Mena region, the Chinese company’s shipments grew 76 per cent yearon-year in the first half of 2018, while revenue surged 100 per cent.

Huawei, based in Shenzhen, is looking to capitalise on the roll-out of 5G, the fifth generation of mobile communications which is expected to virtually eliminate any lag time between mobile providers and networks.

This opens up possibilities such as real-time chat in virtual reality, high-definition footage from drones and remote surgery while using less energy at lower cost.

“We already have the road map for a 5G smartphone,” Mr Ho said. “Next year many carriers are expected to build 5G networks and we will provide test models [5G-enabled devices] to our key partners by next year.”

Mr Ho also said that Huawei is examining folding smartphone screens.

“We are working on foldable technology ... and probably we will announce our new products next year,” he said.

Huawei’s arch-rival Samsung is also in the race to launch foldable smartphone technology in the coming months.

Huawei is spending liberally on research and development to stay competitive.

“Every year, we have a target of investing at least than 10 per cent of our revenues on R&D,” Mr Ho said. “In fact, last year we invested more than 15 per cent of our revenue.”

Huawei’s eagerly awaited Mate 20 series unveiled this week offers larger screens and better cameras

Available in 6.53-inch (16.5cm), 16.2cm and 18.2cm sizes, the series has four devices: Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X and Mate 20 RS and cost from €799 (Dh3,390) to €2,095.

Sales for Huawei overtook US smartphone giant Apple in the second quarter of this year to become the No 2 smartphone vendor globally. It trails only South Korea’s Samsung, according to Massachusetts research company International Data Corporation.

When asked if Huawei is looking to dethrone Samsung from the No 1 position, Mr Ho said: “Maybe next year.”

However, in the United States and Australia, Huawei is facing accusations from politicians and intelligence officials who say its products are used for Chinese espionage, which the company has denied.

Mr Ho declined to comment on the impact of the allegations on Huawei’s business.