Huawei launches 6-inch smartphone and premium tablet, claims second place in MEA

Chinese technology company Huawei has launched two new devices, a smartphone with a six-inch screen and a premium tablet, as it continues on a regional push.

The world’s third largest smartphone manufacturer, with 9.7 per cent market share, is now number two in the Middle East and Africa, according to Huawei Middle East consumer president Gene Jiao.

The firm, which shipped 108 million units globally last year, also claims 10.5 per cent market share in the United Arab Emirates.

The Mate 8 smartphone is equipped with a large HD screen, new Kirin 950 chipset and a 4000mAh battery and will run on Huawei’s customised version of Android Marshmallow 6.0. It also includes a fingerprint scanner and a new Sony 16MP IMX298 rear camera. Pricing ranges from Dhs 1,899 for the 32GB version with 3GB of RAM to Dhs 2,199 for the 64GB version with 4GB of RAM.

The M2, meanwhile, is a premium tablet with a 10-inch HD screen. It features Harman/Kardon speakers and a metal unibody design and is priced from 1,299 to 1,799 with different WiFi and LTE versions with 2GB or 3GB of RAM.

Huawei consumer business group vice president Sandeep Saighal said: “2015 was a successful year for the Huawei consumer business group here in the Middle East and we anticipate 2016 to be an even bigger one with immense growth in the region following the launch of these two flagship devices.”

In an interview with Gulf Business last year, Saighal said he hoped for double-digit growth in the Middle East in 2016.

Huawei’s global revenue from its consumer business jumped 70 per cent last year from $12.1bn in 2014 to $20bn in 2015.