Huawei is not about to leave the country. This is both good and bad news. The Chinese brand and its Harmony OS mobile system could represent the third option in the North American mobility market, after the iPhone and Android phones, so desired by many consumers who would like to stay away from Apple and Google. .
Canada banned the Chinese equipment manufacturer in mid-May from participating in the erection of the national 5G infrastructure, as the United States and European countries did before it. However, to learn more about its future in Canada, Huawei has since suggested looking to Europe, where the brand continues to be present despite everything.
Obviously, the Chinese company will adapt its activities in Canada to comply with the legal framework that will be imposed on it. Huawei Canada will no longer be an OEM selling its hardware to Bell, Telus and others. It will convert into a maker of connected devices like phones, personal computers, etc. In Europe, the brand also sells huge televisions and various connected accessories for the home.
William Tian, the great leader of Huawei in Europe, confided to French media, at the very moment when François-Philippe Champagne and Marco Mendicino confirmed the banishment in Canadian 5G of Huawei, that the Chinese manufacturer would continue to market new phones throughout the coming year. The Chinese leader, in the process, mentioned the Mate Xs 2, a phone with a foldable screen which should have, if it had not lost Google services in the wake of a decision by the American government, to do battle on the North American market with foldable devices from the Korean group Samsung.
William Tian also made a point of recalling that Huawei invests 20% of its turnover in the research and development of new technologies which will be found for the most part in its future mobile products.
Back in 2023
Despite the fall in Huawei’s revenue caused by its expulsion from the 5G infrastructures of many countries, its investment in R&D still represents a significant sum today. Huawei continues to sell its mobile devices by the millions, especially in Asia. Since Google stopped providing it with its own version of the Android system, including its Play Store application store, Huawei had to create its own Android derivative called Harmony OS.
According to Huawei, there are now 150 million active devices worldwide that are powered by Harmony OS, which could be referred to as the Chinese Android system. In the process, Huawei did as Google and Apple have done for years, and imitated the other mobile services of its main competitors: Huawei Music, Huawei Wallet and the others are establishing themselves in China and Europe.
In Canada, Huawei currently sells three wireless models: the P30, the P40 and the P40 Pro. These devices are all a year old or more, an eternity in a market where manufacturers renew their catalog every six months. And yet, the P40 and P40 Pro have no complex with the latest Android phones from Google or Samsung. Only a few connected services (such as contactless mobile payment) are missing to provide the same level of experience to the user.
Huawei is therefore in the process of building its own mobile platform where its products are still in demand. Company spokespersons met at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early March were already planning a return of its mobile products to Canada by 2023 at the latest. president of its European subsidiary when asked when he sees Huawei going back on the offensive in 5G. The only difference: it will not be an offensive on the business-to-business side, but on the consumer side.
The (famous) third way
Huawei’s positioning in the Canadian wireless market will be simple: we are the only brand capable of truly driving innovation. Huawei wants to spoil the party where Apple and Google seem content to offer much the same mobile experience, despite rival software ecosystems: better cameras, more intuitive interaction between your phone, personal computer and other devices. connected, and so on.
This assertion will raise the eyebrows of many critics who blame Huawei for its role in the collapse of the Canadian equipment manufacturer Nortel in the early 2000s. Former Nortel executives have subsequently criticized Huawei for a lack of respect for their intellectual property which allowed him to create competing products at a lower price.
Huawei will probably not go that far in the wireless market, but Chinese manufacturers from all walks of life are much less embarrassed than North American or European manufacturers to generously draw inspiration from the good ideas of their rivals. We think of Chinese brand cars that could just as well have been designed by Jaguar or Buick designers…
Just look at the devices currently sold by Huawei to understand that its strategy will not be far from the same water: the Harmony OS interface is a happy mix of what makes Samsung and Apple mobiles pleasant use.
And many consumers who do not particularly carry Apple or Google in their hearts are likely to appreciate this third way. It won’t be BlackBerry. Nor will it be Microsoft, still unable to establish itself in wireless. But it could well be Huawei.