[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Huawei, a Chinese company under strong sanctions from the U.S. government, is launching a new smartphone in the global market. Following the mid-range smartphone 'Nova9,' the company has also announced plans to release the strategic smartphone 'P50' series globally next year. This move is interpreted as an effort to revive its smartphone business by leveraging its traditional stronghold in the European market.
According to IT media The Verge and other foreign outlets on the 21st (local time), Huawei held a new product launch event in Vienna, Austria, where it announced these plans. The Nova9, which was released for the Chinese market last month, confirmed its global release date less than a month later. Pre-orders in the European market start from today, with the official release date set for November 2. Prices start at 499 euros.
Huawei also revealed plans for the global release of the premium smartphone 'P50' series, which was launched exclusively in the Chinese market in July. The plan is to introduce it outside China in 2022, approximately two years after the release of its predecessor, the P40.
Once ranked as the world's number one smartphone manufacturer by shipment volume, Huawei has recently been hit hard by U.S. government sanctions. In May 2019, the U.S. blacklisted Huawei, blocking access to domestic technology, and in September last year, it restricted semiconductor supplies for Huawei smartphones. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Huawei's market share in Europe shrank from 13.4% in Q2 2019 to 0.3% in Q2 this year.
The Nova9 does not support Google Android-based operating systems (OS) or services. Instead of its proprietary OS Harmony, it runs on EMUI12 based on Android open source. It features a 6.57-inch OLED display and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G 4G chipset. The battery capacity is 4300mAh and supports 66W fast charging. It comes in two colors: black and blue.
U.S. economic media CNBC reported, "Although Huawei's overseas business was impacted by U.S. sanctions, it did not prevent the launch of new products in the global market," adding, "The Nova9 is a 4G device boasting camera specifications, a 6.57-inch display, and fast charging expected from a premium smartphone." However, foreign media also noted that 5G is rapidly spreading in the European market, which Huawei is targeting, expressing some disappointment over the device's 4G support.
Meanwhile, Huawei stated that the current number of HarmonyOS users is approximately 120 million.
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