Huawei Enters High-End Smartphone Market
03 September 2015 - 3:00AM
Dow Jones News
BERLIN—Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co. entered
the high-end smartphone market on Wednesday with the launch of a
new flagship phone ahead of the IFA Consumer Electronics trade fair
in Berlin.
The Mate S, a 5.5-inch smartphone, is the most expensive handset
Huawei has ever made, said Kevin He, president of the company's
handset division. The price tag marks a strategic shift for Huawei,
the world's third largest smartphone maker after Samsung
Electronics Co. and Apple Inc., which was previously known for
value-for-money handsets in the mid- or low-price segment.
The Mate S is priced between €600 ($673) and €750, depending on
the size of memory and the quality of the case, Mr. He said. This
compares to the €500 price tag of Huawei's previous flagship phone,
the P8, which was launched earlier this year
Huawei has built several new features into the Mate S which
weren't part of its previous models, including a technology similar
to the Touch force used in the Apple watch. For example, it's
possibly to enlarge photos by pressing on the screen with one
finger. Still, this feature won't be included in all markets.
Huawei has also improved the Knuckle Sense technology, which was
first used in the P8. By drawing a "C" on the screen with the
knuckle, the phone opens the camera. Drawing an "I" opens the
Internet browser, Mr. He said.
Huawei's Mate S also features an 8 megapixel camera in the front
with a built in flash to improve the quality of so-called selfies,
and a 13 megapixel camera on the back. The phone supports a
standard protocol for wireless printing, which makes it compatible
with 875 printer types across 16 leading brands. The Mate S also
supports fast charging, a feature that Samsung and other high-end
smartphone manufacturers have built in to their high-end
phones.
Huawei doesn't intend to sell the Mate S in the U.S. because it
plans to launch other phones there, Mr. He said without adding
specific details. Although among the top three smartphone makers in
the world, Huawei is ranked 13 out of 21 vendors for market share
in the U.S., equating to less than 1% according to industry
research firm IDC.
The Mate S will be available in China and major markets in
Europe, as well as The United Arab Emirates, Japan and South
Africa, at the end of September. Other countries are expected to
follow soon after..
The device is 7.2 millimeters thick, with side edges that are
just 2.65 millimeters thick. The phone's arched back allows it to
fit better in the palm of the hand, Mr. He said. The Mate S, which
will come in a standard and a premium version in some markets, has
a sapphire lens as part of the phone's seamless metal body. Among
other colors the premium version will also be available in gold,
which is popular in Huawei's Chinese home market. The most
expensive Mate S has a 64 GB memory and a 3 GB RAM. All phones run
on a modified version of Google Inc's latest operating system,
Android 5.1.
The launch of the Mate S comes ahead of the opening of the IFA
trade fair on Friday, where Huawei will also showcase its new
midprice phone, the 5.5-inch-screen G8. Huawei is expected to be
one of the few major smartphone makers to present new models.
Unlike in previous years, Samsung already presented its new
flagship phones some weeks ago, while Apple, which never takes part
in trade fairs, will present new products on Sept. 9.
Write to Archibald Preuschat at archibald.preuschat@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 02, 2015 12:45 ET (16:45 GMT)
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