Huawei's recent launch of its P9 4G phone had many analysts thinking that the Chinese smartphone giant is inching closer to being ripe and ready to go head-to-head with no less than Apple.
Unveiled in London on April 6, the P9 is making headlines with its partnership with Leica. The 5.2-inch smartphone adopts a dual-lens camera designed in collaboration with the German optics maker, a move that could possibly steal savvy iPhone users who are after capturing better stills.
The release manifests Huawei's strong desire to expand its footprints to other markets, particularly the U.S. and Europe, said analysts.
"Huawei made it clear that the product was designed to directly challenge Apple and Samsung," The Wall Street Journal noted.
"As Huawei executive Richard Yu spoke at the event, the screen behind him showed how the P9 compared favorably with Apple's iPhone 6s and Samsung's Galaxy S7 on a number of specifications," the WSJ added.
The camera is not the only thing that brings Huawei's P9 to the higher end of the mobile phone industry.
"Based on its looks alone, the Huawei P9 is clearly targeted at the upper end of the market," said Rob Triggs of Android Authority.
He added that the smartphone's design resembles that of the Nexus 6P, coming in with a thin bezel and a full metal unibody.
In 2015, Huawei revealed in a WSJ report that it is renewing its "push to sell smartphones and other gadgets to consumers in America."
This was followed by the company's success at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, where it captured visitors' attention with its line of smartphones, specifically the Honor 5X targeted at the midrange segment.
Now, Huawei seems to be in the right time to launch a new smartphone after sales of Apple's recent launch, the iPhone SE, failed to impress.
Citing a report from mobile analytics firm Localytics, China Daily said that "the iPhone SE had the lowest adoption in its first weekend of availability since 2012."
"The iPhone SE took 0.1 percent of the overall iPhone market by the first weekend since its availability," the news website added.