Huawei Technologies, under a U.S. crackdown for more than two years, launched new products including smartphones, watches, smart eyewear, laptops and the HarmonyOS Smart Cockpit during a high-profile event in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. According to the Global Times, observers said this proofs that Huawei is still thriving and moving forward, despite the U.S. ban that cut it off from accessing critical semiconductor chips and software. One of most eye-catching products launched during the event was the Huawei P50 Pocket, its latest flagship foldable smartphone. However, it lacks the 5G function due to the U.S. chip ban, but features a strong rear camera with selfie algorithms, and it uses the big camera sensor to boost low-light performance. The smartphone is a rival to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3. Priced from CNY8,988 in China, the model's launch shows that the company plans to maintain a solid presence in the premium segment, including that of foldable smartphones, following the earlier launch of Oppo's Find N. Xiaomi and Vivo are also preparing to launch foldable smartphones. Huawei accounted for 64% of China’s foldable smartphone market this year. According to International Data Corp (IDC), in the first quarter of this year, Apple had a 72% share of the above-USD800 segment in China and Huawei had 24%.
Huawei also launched the watch D series, Huawei eyewear, the next-generation MateBook X Pro and electric vehicle AITO M5. Huawei's products are powered by HarmonyOS – its self-developed operating system that replaces Google's AndroidOS. “There are now more than 220 million Huawei devices running HarmonyOS, and shipments of HarmonyOS Connect devices increased by over 100 million in 2021,” Richard Yu, Huawei Executive Director and CEO of the Consumer Business Group and CEO of the Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, said at the launch event. “Huawei has never stopped innovating in the face of seemingly endless supply constraints. We appreciate all the consumers and partners who have been with us all the way. We will continue to create more extraordinary products and experiences that live up to expectations. Winter will be over soon. Then we'll embrace the spring,” Yu said.
Huawei reported revenue of CNY455.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2021, a significant 32% drop as its consumer business still suffered severely amid the U.S. chip ban.
