April 20, 2024
Mobile & Internet
Huawei jumps into high-end smartphone market in Korea
[THE INVESTOR] Chinese tech giant Huawei is expected to launch its premium smartphones for the first time in Korea, targeting the gap in the market left by the Galaxy Note 7.
Huawei’s premium smartphones P9 and P9 plus gained radio equipment approvals from the National Radio Research Agency on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, respectively, the tech firm’s Korean unit confirmed Monday.
 |
Huawei P9 |
The phones are expected to be rolled out in December via Huawei’s local partner LG Plus and priced from around 700,000 won ($612) to 800,000 won, according to local news reports.
“Huawei appears to deem that it is worth competing with LG’s V20 and Apple’s iPhone 7 in the local high-end market after the Galaxy Note 7 left,” an industry source told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity.
Both Huawei and LG Plus declined to make any comment on the launch.
A Huawei official said, “The product launch is decided by a mobile carrier -- not by us -- based on market demand. We are willing to unveil premium phones if there is demand.”
Industry watchers say this is the right time for Huawei to roll out its premium phones in Korea where demand for the Chinese brand has been growing due to its high cost efficiency.
Sales of unlocked smartphones -- not tied to any specific carrier -- made by Chinese firms have more than doubled this year through September, compared to the same period last year, according to local online market Gmarket last week.
They include premium smartphones of Huawei and the smartphones of Xiaomi, which has not made an official presence here.
Alongside Huawei, more Chinese smartphones are expected to enter Korea, due to the growing demand for low-end devices.
“More Chinese smartphone-makers including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are also expected to make inroads into Korea to grab more share in the low-to and mid-end market segment,” said Kim Jong-ki, a researcher specializing in the mobile industry at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade.
By Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
