Huawei has long bared its plans of competing against Apple Inc. in the high-end smartphones segment and the Shenzhen-based company has no plans of scrapping that out with the release of the Mate 9 phone in Germany.
The Shenzhen-based company unveiled the sophisticated handset in Munich, Germany last week, targeting the corporate business segment. Like the equally high-end P9 phone, the new $776 device adopts a dual-lens rear camera, which is co-engineered with optics maker Leica. The company also rolled out a limited version, which is made in collaboration with Porsche AG. This edition sells for $1,500.
Europe is one of Huawei's fastest-growing markets, registering 105 percent growth this year, according to China Daily.
"[I]ts performance has been boosted significantly, especially the photo-taking and fast-charging abilities," Xiang Ligang, CEO of telecom industry website cctime.com, told China Daily.
"The partnership with Leica and Porsche, two renowned brands in Europe, will increase its appeal and share in the above-3,000 yuan ($447) market," Xiang added.
Huawei had cemented its move to penetrate the high-end market with the earlier release of P9, a high-spec handset that also employs the now-popular dual-lens camera.
With the launch of Mate 9, Huawei is poised to "motivate consumers to upgrade their devices and give [the company] more voice in the high-end segment," China Daily reported, quoting Gartner's research director Roger Sheng.
The Chinese maker earlier said that it wanted to become the largest maker of mobile phones in the next five years, elbowing out Samsung and Apple.
"We want to be the number-one smartphone maker in the world. It's a long distance race, and we have the patience," said Richard Yu, head of the Huawei's consumer-electronics business, at the Wall Street Journal's Converge technology conference.
Huawei is one of the five largest smartphone makers, along with Apple, Samsung, Oppo and Vivo.
