Huawei is the Chinese equivalent of Apple in the United States and Samsung in Korea in the smartphone market. In fact, according to the latest data, the company had 9% of the whole smartphone shipments in the world. This number puts the Chinese organization in the number 3 spot on that list.

Android gave Samsung the lead with 20% of the shipments while The American representative is clinging to its 14%. But according to Huawei’s spokesmen, this situation is going to change. They said the company would be at the top of the market in around five years.

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Richard Yu, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Consumer Business Group on stage at the Huawei P8 launch. Credit: Techno Buffalo

“How long it takes us to be number one will depend on how long it takes to convince you to switch from the iPhone to the Huawei P9,” Said Guo Ping, Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese tech company.

The ongoing race for innovation 

For many readers, the claim is far-fetched, mainly, because they have no idea who Huawei is. Well, the company has successfully established in markets outside the United States, and lately, the tech community has been praising its products a lot. This can be seen in the 2015’s smartphone sales numbers.

The iPhone has had a commercial success that has lasted for a lot of years. Every time the company released a new product, millions of fans waiting in line to get it. However last year’s quarter, the company reported a fall in sales. According to experts, the new phone brought nothing new to the table. On the other hand, Samsung stayed flat with its Galaxy 7s, but Huawei did report commercial success. In fact, the company’s smartphone demand increased 70% collecting US$20 billion in revenues.

Richard Yu, The head of Huawei’s consumer electronics business, said there was a breach created by the lack of innovation of the big companies in the industry. Guo said the company invested US$9.2 billion into development last year which would explain its success in the market. The message was clear, and they said the company wanted to bring tangible value to the middle to premium market with better hardware and software.

What does US9.2 billion of investment do?

Huawei started using the principles of its two primary opponents in the mobile device market. In an Apple-like fashion, the company began funding independent and private developers to work on applications specially created for its products. Also, its software team launched “Huawei Emotion UI” which is a customized interface based on Google’s Android.

The feedback is mixed, but it’s mostly positive. Costumers and critics have praised Huawei’s P6 because of its double lens camera and long lasting battery. For the Emotion UI, many people like the idea of personalizing their phones’ interface, and even though some feel they are straying too far from the Android’s concept, the majority says it’s a healthy experiment.

The company is not immune to the fall of sales in the mobile device market. It expects a 3% growth in global shipments this year.

Source: CNET