Huawei has pledged its support for the UK as it continues its push to be the world’s number one smartphone manufacturer.
Speaking to TechRadar Pro at the recent MWC 2019 event in Barcelona, Huawei UK MD Anson Zhang stated that the UK remained “a very strategic market for us” and pledged to maintain high levels of investment in the country.
Noting that Huawei has been in the UK for eleven years, and employs over a thousand workers here, Zhang highlighted the importance of continued investment.
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Lighthouse
Describing the UK as a “lighthouse market” in terms of trends, Zhang noted that the company was now in the UK’s top three phone makers, and wants to push this even higher.
“We will continuously focus on the UK to deliver the latest technologies,” he said, noting that Huawei wants to bring not just its latest phones (including the upcoming Huawei P30) here, but also PCs, tablets, wearables - and 5G networks.
Zhang highlighted the “good progress” the UK has been making in 5G, noting that work Huawei has been doing with the “very active” operators. Huawei has been operating with them “very tightly”, he adds, suggesting a major push on advertising and marketing is on the way alongside the continued R&D budget here.
Our interview with Zhang came shortly after the company revealed the Huawei Mate X bendable smartphone to the world, marking a potentially major milestone for the company’s future.
But Zhang notes that Huawei doesn’t just want to be recognised for its smartphones going forward, but instead be seen as a wider technology leader in several areas.
“Huawei is a global company...at Huawei, we commit to bringing the digital connection to every single nation, every family and every single person,” he says, “we are determined to deliver more intelligence for consumer's lives.”
Huawei is well-regarded for its high investment in research and development, being ranked as one of the world’s top ten R&D spenders.
This will continue to be the company’s strategy going forward, Zhang says, but it’s important that Huawei maintains focus.
“It doesn't mean we do everything, we just do the things that are really important and necessary for people's lives,” he says. “When you’re at home, you need a smartphone, when you go to the office, you need a laptop...we make the selection based on people, and their usage.”
“It's about connected office, connected home and connected people - this is our long-term strategy - instead of just smartphones.”
“Smartphones are still the main smart device...but meanwhile we have been doing a lot of efforts, not just in smartphones, but in laptops, tablets, wearables and affordable devices...equipped with the latest technology like 5G to help people build their full intelligent world.”
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