Published in El Pais, 3 April 2018
When asked to name high end smartphones the two that comes to mind would be the iPhone X and the Samsung Galaxy S9 but Huawei has recently thrown its hat into the elite smart phone market with the P20 pro which is the first phone featuring 3 rear facing cameras, standard 128gb storage, a massive battery and like the X and S9 it has an edge to edge screen. For those hoping that this will be a cost-effective phone because of the Huawei name will be out of luck, its starting price is €899 (roughly $1,100 USD) making it more expensive than both the X and the S9.
What is more surprising than the price is when Huawei unveiled the phone to a crowd in Paris no one gasped at the price nor are critics pointing to it as a negative aspect when reviewing the phone like they did with the X. This seems to be a great phone at a price no one seems to mind, coming from a brand that not too long ago was considered a budget phone manufacturer which released phones in the $100-$200 range.
As of writing Huawei is the third largest phone maker in the world and has done so with a serious handicap as the company has been black listed by the U.S government and every major U.S carrier and retailer due to concerns that the company’s close ties to the Chinese government could allow the company to use the phones to gain access to the U.S communications network and steal information.
So, what does this mean for those in the U.S or other markets that will have difficulty accessing this phone? In the short term nothing as all you can do is hope that Huawei can finally ease the U.S’s security concerns but as the company grows in China and Europe, Apple and Samsung will now have to see them as a legitimate threat to their market shares which should hopefully inspire more innovative designs at more competitive prices. This should indirectly help the U.S consumer, even if it cannot easily purchase their phones in the foreseeable future.
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