Huawei's ambition to become the global smartphone leader : difficulties or challenges?

Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider which was founded in 1987. Today, Huawei has become China’s biggest producer of equipment for the telecommunication industry. Huawei grew rapidly after its foundation to expand their network all over the world and has become the world’s second largest telecommunication equipment supplier.

Huawei in the United States and their scandal

Huawei opened up its first office in 2001 in the United States. Its business has grown year after year and even makes great contributions to the American economy and society. According to Huawei’s 2015 annual report, it has invested over 800 million dollars in the United States. Each year, they allocate more than 10% of revenue for innovation.

Unfortunately, in recent months, Huawei has had to embrace a huge challenge. The House of Representatives “intelligence committee” warned that Huawei poses a threat to the national security of the US, and they warned American companies to avoid doing business with Huawei. Thus, US government computer systems will not include components of Huawei due to the risk of espionage.

In response to the US allegation, Huawei teams reacted quickly. They mentioned that they were trusted and respected in addition to guaranteeing the security of their product. This is the fact today and for tomorrow. Basically, there are issues in relationships between the US government and the Chinese government, particularly in cyber activities. Independent companies like them should not be victims of the issue.

This crisis will be difficult for the company, but Huawei is not going away, it is just not extending to the American network anytime soon.

Since Samsung has fallen into disfavour, Huawei and Apple have a direct firefight. Who can seize this opportunity in high-tech industry?

We heard a lot of news about Samsung’s exploding batteries. The explosive product is the Samsung Galaxy S7 and there have been numerous reports of Samsung Galaxy S7 handsets exploding. Despite the fact that the company has now recalled the note 7 due to their exploding, the bad image of Samsung may last for a long time. This will take a heavy toll on Samsung’s development.

Nevertheless, it is an opportunity for Apple and Huawei now that there is a direct fight between them. In November 2016, Huawei’s CEO gave a public speech. He said: “Huawei will exceed Apple within two years.”  Is it asking for the moon, or is it an ambitious statement built on a strong foundation of ability and confidence? He added: “Even though Apple has always occupied the first place of high-tech market, they had a trough a few years ago. We need not fear our competitors, but strategically we should take them seriously. Slow and steady wins the race.”

At the end of his speech, he showed four vital factors to compare Huawei with Apple:

1.     Hardware core

In a mobile phone, the hardware core is the processor. Apple continues to use a series of A processor. Thanks to Huawei’s new Kirin 960 processor, the two sides are well-matched.

2.     Kernel software 

In this respect Huawei is completely outmatched, as Apple has spent more than 40 years developing their OS X kernel software. Huawei doesn’t have their own kernel software and must rely on Android.

3.     Industrial design

Since the creation of Apple, their industrial design has always been an icon in the high-tech industry. By using each material and each colour, they can constantly set the trend. In this regard, Huawei has fallen far short of Apple’s industrial design.

4.     Creativity

This is the largest variable. In the context of scientific and technological progress, the playing field alters from day to day. Thus, each player is able to come up with technological advancements. This gives Huawei a good opportunity to expand their market.

Huawei has just launched its new model P9 smartphone. It has combined with the German camera manufacturer Leica and has created a stunning dual-lens camera.

Can Huawei exceed Apple? Only time will tell.

Ci Z.