Huawei phone aims for the top

BERLIN: China’s Huawei Technologies unveiled a new smartphone this week, taking aim at the high end of the market dominated by Apple and Samsung Electronics.

The Mate S, launched on the sidelines of Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show, IFA, in Berlin, has a 5.5-inch display, a 13 megapixel rear camera and fingerprint security. Huawei says it is one of the first smartphones to include a Force Touch display, which can distinguish between a light tap and deep press, enabling access to more functions just by pressing harder.

Apple is also expected to introduce iPhones featuring Force Touch technology next week.

Huawei became the world’s third-biggest smartphone company by sales last month, according to research firm Gartner, overtaking Chinese rival Lenovo, and aims to become the first Chinese firm to sell more than 100 million smartphones this year.

But it is still far behind Samsung, which had 21.9 percent of the market in the second quarter, and Apple, on 14.6 percent. Huawei’s share rose to 7.8 percent from 5.4 percent in the first quarter.

Huawei’s Mate S phone will retail for $732 (about R10 000) – comparable to some higher-end Apple iPhone 6 series models – with a premium version for about R11 500, the Chinese company said.

“Huawei aspires to be the next Samsung, successful with both premium design and by shipping large numbers of smartphone models,” said analyst Ian Fogg, who expects Huawei to ship about 109 million smartphones this year. Huawei’s smartphone launches show the company is close to meeting these goals.” – Reuters