The rise and rebirth of Huawei mobile phones
In the fierce competition in the era of smart phones, Huawei mobile phones have experienced ups and downs in the development process. From an obscure mobile phone brand to a global smartphone leader, and then to a recent re-emergence in the trough, the journey has been thrilling. Let's review the development trajectory of Huawei mobile phones and appreciate the wisdom and tenacity in it.
The struggle of the era of feature phones
To trace the roots of Huawei phones, we have to go back to the mid-90s of the 20th century. At that time, international giants such as Nokia and Motorola dominated the mobile phone market, and domestic manufacturers only accounted for a corner. Huawei, as a company that started as a communication equipment company, initially operated mobile phones as an add-on business.
Despite its late start, Huawei has never given up on the mobile phone business. They are well aware that the mobile terminal is the key link between the operator's network and the user, and mastering the terminal is equivalent to mastering the right to speak. Based on this understanding, Huawei has been investing heavily in R&D in the era of feature phones, and has continued to innovate.
With outstanding hardware quality and innovative design concepts, Huawei's feature phones have quickly won a good reputation at home and abroad. By 2009, Huawei had become the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer. This laid a solid foundation for their rise in the smartphone era.
The take-off of the smartphone era
With the rise of the iPhone and Android systems, the era of smartphones kicked off. Huawei realizes that this will be an unprecedented market reshuffle, with both opportunities and challenges. They are resolutely making a big push into the smartphone field.
In the beginning, Huawei's smartphone product line was not very popular. It wasn't until 2012 that they launched the acclaimed Ascend P1 that gave Huawei a foothold in the smartphone market. Over the next few years, Huawei's smartphone lineup grew, with both the Mate series and the P series winning the hearts of consumers.
By 2016, Huawei finally occupied a double-digit market share in the global smartphone market, second only to Samsung and Apple, becoming a major player in the industry. This achievement is made possible by Huawei's outstanding performance in R&D investment, supply chain management, and marketing strategies.
U.S. sanctions and obstacles
At the critical moment when Huawei's smartphone business took off, a heavy blow came to Huawei, bringing unprecedented challenges to Huawei. In May 2019, the U.S. government began imposing a series of severe sanctions on Huawei on national security grounds.
The impact of sanctions is all-encompassing. Huawei has been cut off from purchasing technology and components from the United States, unable to use the Android operating system, and has lost overseas markets. For a time, Huawei's smartphone development suffered a heavy blow, with shipments plummeting by 42.4% in 2020.
In the face of many obstacles, Huawei did not give up. They are intensively developing the HarmonyOS operating system and building an independent and controllable software and hardware ecosystem; At the same time, it has increased investment in 5G technology to prepare for the future. Although it has suffered a heavy blow in the short term, Huawei has laid the foundation for long-term development.
Start anew and climb new heights
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, 2023 is coming. With the moderate relaxation of U.S. sanctions and Huawei's years of efforts in ecological construction finally come to fruition, Huawei's mobile phones have come back to life.
In 2023, as soon as the Huawei Mate 60 series and nova 12 series phones were launched, they were wildly sought after by consumers, and shipments continued to climb. In the quarter of 2024, Huawei's domestic mobile phone shipments will increase by more than 70% year-on-year, regaining its position among the top three in China.
This rebound will continue in 2024. After the release of Huawei's Pura 70 series phones, the total shipment is expected to reach 10 million to 12 million units, a figure that only the iPhone can match in the global market.
People believe that Huawei's mobile phone can re-emerge mainly due to three advantages: first, Huawei's adherence to the high-end flagship market, which has an absolute advantage in this segment; Second, the HarmonyOS ecosystem is becoming more and more mature, providing users with a new experience; Third, Huawei's leading position in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence has injected strong impetus into mobile phones.
Can Xiaomi OV replicate its glory?
During the downturn of Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo stood in the domestic mobile phone market, and they once dominated the domestic mobile phone market by virtue of the cost-effective advantages of low-end models. But with Huawei's strong comeback, it's doubtful that they will be able to extend their past glory.
It is not easy for the three Xiaomi OVs to make a breakthrough in the high-end flagship market. For many years, they have focused on the cost-effective route, and there is a certain gap with Huawei in terms of R&D strength, supply chain management, and brand premium. If you rashly enter the high-end market, it is likely to fall into homogeneous vicious competition.
The three Xiaomi OVs are not without opportunities. They can learn from Huawei's successful experience, increase R&D investment, cultivate independent intellectual property rights, and build a differentiated experience ecosystem. Only when we really have the core technology can we get a share of the high-end market.
Another trend worth paying attention to is that folding screen phones are considered to be the direction of future development. Samsung and Huawei are leading the way in this area, while Xiaomi OV is also following suit. If they can make a breakthrough in folding screen phones, it will win them new growth space.
The smartphone market will become more and more competitive. Huawei's regaining its foothold will further sharply divide the market. The high-end flagship market is likely to be dominated by Huawei, Apple, and Samsung, while the low-end market will be dominated by domestic phone brands such as Xiaomi OV. In this new round of competition, we will wait and see.