Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) recently hosted a virtual launch in Barcelona, Spain, during which it announced a series of new 5G products and strategy that demonstrate the full capabilities of its all-scenario ecosystem.
The key products announced include: HUAWEI Mate Xs, an evolution of the foldable device featuring cutting-edge hardware and software; HUAWEI MatePad Pro 5G, a flagship 5G tablet that offers a premium all-scenario experience; and HUAWEI Wi-Fi AX3 and HUAWEI 5G CPE Pro 2, two Wi-Fi 6+ enabled connectivity solutions that offer high-speed, pervasive connectivity to consumers.
In addition, Huawei also unveiled a range of new HUAWEI MateBook laptops. Powered by the 10th Generation Intel® Core™ processors and the Windows operating system, the latest FullView laptops transform the mobile office experience with revolutionary productivity features such as Huawei Share and Multi-screen Collaboration.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said “Huawei will remain committed to the All-scenario Seamless AI Life strategy. We will continue investing into our edge technologies including chipsets, 5G communications, mobile AI, operating systems, cameras and audio-visual solutions so as to build out our long-term competitive advantages. We are also eager to work with developers globally to catalyse the growth of the all-scenario ecosystem. Together with them, we will elevate the all-scenario experience and take it to new heights.”
TOGETHER, Connecting Possibilities
At Huawei, the consumer experience always comes first. In that vein, the company has dedicated the past decade cultivating the “1+8+N” ecosystem. Underpinning the ecosystem are Huawei Share and Huawei HiLink, which are the bridges that connect all devices together to deliver a holistic user experience. Besides innovating on the hardware front, Huawei continues to build the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) ecosystem, which is accessible to consumers via the HUAWEI AppGallery.
With the all-scenario hardware and software service platform working in harmony, Huawei delivers a quality user experience where information is shared among connected devices in a seamless fashion across all scenarios.
2019 was an unconventional year for Huawei. However, Huawei remains a trusted brand among consumers, as evidenced by its strong performance in 2019 with annual revenue surging upwards by 30 per cent to $67 billion. Huawei’s smartphone business surpassed 240 million unit shipments, securing Huawei’s position as the world’s second largest handset manufacturer. Other product categories in the all-scenario ecosystem recorded rapid growth: PC business was up by 200 per cent, wearables up by 173 per cent and wireless audio products were up by 210 per cent.
Experience revolutionised, again: HUAWEI Mate Xs
Equipped with Huawei’s self-developed flagship 5G SoC Kirin 990 5G, the HUAWEI Mate Xs is a complete upgrade featuring improved mobile AI and 5G communications capabilities.
The Leica SuperSensing Quad Camera makes a return on the HUAWEI Mate Xs. Comprised of a 40MP SuperSensing camera, a 16MP ultra wide angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera and a 3D Depth Sensing camera, the powerful Leica camera system takes full advantage of with the foldable form factor, playing the role of both front and rear cameras to support wide range of photographic use cases.
Running on EMUI10.0.1, HUAWEI Mate Xs supports Multi-Window apps that ensure a smarter and more dynamic experience. To expand the range of apps that exploit that full potential of the foldable form factor, Huawei is working collaboratively with global developers to grow the ecosystem.
Beyond Wi-Fi 6: HUAWEI Wi-Fi AX Series
As part of Huawei’s All-scenario Seamless AI Life strategy, connectivity solutions such as Wi-Fi routers, customer-premise equipment (CPE), and communication modules play a critical role connecting the 1+8+N ecosystem together to provide a secure, intuitive, smart and high-speed connected experience to consumers.
As a leader in 5G technology, Huawei is one of the main contributors to the formulation of the Wi-Fi 6 standard. Currently, the IEEE 802.11ax standard working group includes five technical experts from Huawei, with one of whom being sitting chairperson of the group. With 260 contributions submitted – accounting for 15 per cent of all submissions – to the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) project, Huawei is the second most prominent contributor to the collaborative industry effort.
Leveraging the synergy between its proprietary chipset and software optimisations, Huawei developed Wi-Fi 6+ based on the Wi-Fi 6 standard. Wi-Fi 6+ supports end-to-end 160MHz channel bandwidth and Huawei’s exclusive dynamic narrowband technology. Combined, these two breakthroughs lead to vastly improved Wi-Fi speeds and signal coverage.
During the virtual launch, Huawei launched Gigahome 650 and Kirin W650, the latest Wi-Fi 6+ chipsets designed for routers and smartphones respectively. The new HUAWEI Wi-Fi AX3 Series is equipped with the Gigahome 650 chipset, which allows it to support dual-band dual-concurrent (DBDC) operation at speeds up to 3000Mbps. When used in conjunction with a Huawei device that also supports Wi-Fi 6+, the HUAWEI Wi-Fi AX3 routers can deliver better signal coverage and speeds exceeding that of Wi-Fi 6 routers.
Huawei also launched the HUAWEI 5G CPE Pro 2, a new Wi-Fi 6+CPE that is 30 per cent more compact than its predecessor. Other notable upgrades include the support for up to 11 5G bands and Huawei’s exclusive Super Uplink technology, which greatly improves upload speed and latency.
Rethink Creativity: HUAWEI MatePad Pro 5G
As an important point of entry to the smart ecosystem, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 5G is designed to synergise with Huawei handsets, wearables and other devices. It serves a key role in the Multi-screen Collaboration feature that delivers a seamless multi-device experience to consumers.
The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 5G features a 10.8-inch HD display with support for the cinema-grade DCI-P3 colour gamut. With ultra-thin bezels, it has the world’s highest tablet screen-to-body ratio, at 90 per cent. Embedded in the body of the lightweight tablet, the Kirin 990 5G SoC supports outstanding 5G connectivity while delivering high performance and power efficiency.
Running EMUI10, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro can be connected to other Huawei smartphones through the Huawei Share Multi-Screen Collaboration feature. Once a connection is established, users can navigate and control both devices on the tablet’s display.
Multi-screen Collaboration also enables drag-and-drop file transfers between smartphones and tablets. Peripheral sharing lets users type on the smartphone using the tablet’s keyboard and screen, play music saved on the smartphone with the tablet’s speakers and more. HUAWEI MatePad Pro 5G supports Multi-Window for displaying up to three apps simultaneously. App Multiplier splits one app instance into two windows, delivering a revolutionary dual-view experience that makes the most out of the landscape orientation.
The HUAWEI MatePad Pro 5G can be paired with the HUAWEI M-Pencil, which supports 4,096 pressure sensitive levels to deliver a natural and intuitive writing experience. HUAWEI Notepad natively supports the Huawei stylus with a new Screen-off Shorthand feature, allowing users to capture their inspiration whenever it strikes.
Huawei also announced the latest HUAWEI MateBook models during the event. The upgraded HUAWEI MateBook X Pro is powered by the 10th Generation Intel Core processors. Available in a new Emerald Green colourway, the latest premium laptop retains the FullView Display design to achieve a screen-to-body ratio of 91 per cent. Meanwhile, the new HUAWEI MateBook D Series joins the HUAWEI MateBook family as a PC targeting younger consumers, offering an innovative smart experience in a design that is signature to the HUAWEI MateBook series.
A new app experience: HUAWEI AppGallery
To cultivate a fully-fledged ecosystem that will support Huawei devices moving forward, Huawei is gradually opening up its chip-device-cloud capabilities to global developers through HMS. Encompassing all-scenario features, global distribution and lifecycle management capabilities, this ecosystem is a key component in Huawei’s All-scenario Seamless AI Life strategy.
Currently in its fourth iteration, HMS Core is a collection of tools made for Huawei’s partners and app developers to create unique, new experiences that tap into the full hardware and software capabilities Huawei devices have on offer. By integrating HMS into their apps with HMS Core 4.0, developers can quickly deploy Huawei’s on-device capabilities such as HiAI, distributed technology and camera features on their apps and provide quality experiences to end users.
For instance, Cewe, Europe’s largest photo printing company, has deployed Huawei’s Share Kit to streamline the device pairing process in its offices. The intuitive printing process facilitates quicker production by requiring only a simple tap for Cewe staff to connect a Huawei device with a printer. These experiences are not exclusive to corporate users; HUWAEI AppGallery offers a range of HMS-enabled apps for Huawei device users to enjoy the convenience brought by Huawei’s innovations.
HUAWEI AppGallery also offers Quick Apps, an innovative category of apps made for devices in the 5G era. Developed based on industry standards, Quick Apps requires no installation and uses minimal system memory. Users can just click on these apps to enjoy the smooth interaction and beautiful interfaces as though they were traditional apps. This category is rapidly growing; at present, there are over 1,700 Quick Apps available on the HUAWEI AppGallery.
In addition to creating apps, Huawei is actively curating quality apps that are popular worldwide to continuously enrich the user experience. To protect users from malicious apps, Huawei has pioneered a full-cycle security and protection system, including developer real-name verification, four-step review process, download and installation protection as well as a prevention mechanism for secure app operation.
With a nine-year track record of app aggregation and development, HUAWEI AppGallery is one of the world’s top three app marketplaces. Speaking about his plans for the HUAWEI AppGallery’s future, Yu remarked: “Moving forward, we will continue expanding our app ecosystem in the HUAWEI AppGallery with hopes to not only create a secure and reliable platform, but also to provide consumers with more choice. The continued success of this thriving ecosystem will remain one of our highest priorities.”
Huawei is actively engaging with developers of popular apps around the world to grow the app ecosystem. Developers are welcome to be part of this ecosystem, and together with Huawei, work towards bringing a smarter app experience to consumers around the world.