While flipping the pages of a book I got during my recent trip to China, a bookmark that shows Huawei’s Mission and Vision fell off. It says, “Bring digital to every person, home, and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.” It dawned on me that all the innovations and successes Huawei have at the moment mirror the fulfillment of their mission and vision.
Who is Huawei?
Huawei is both a dreamer and a doer.
Huawei has this quest to pave roads to a better future, and this is clearly identifiable to the brand they are carrying. They pioneer things, and they don’t just simply try to be a trailblazer for the heck of being called one; they pioneer things because they want to play a vital role in everyone’s future…. in everyone’s digital future.
Huawei’s Flagship Store in Shanghai, China
As simple as it sounds – “bring digital to every person” – Huawei has tremendously influenced the ICT industry more than I ever imagined 5 years ago. I clearly remember when my dad told me to watch over 2 brands when it comes to ICT – Huawei and Siemens. I do not know about the latter (especially when they were fully bought by Nokia to become Nokia Networks), but Huawei has proven itself to be a catalyst in the industry. By ‘industry’, I am referring to not just consumer electronics but ICT in general: network infrastructure, consumer electronics, enterprise solutions.
If we put things into business perspective, Huawei’s business significantly grew from being a $3500 startup company in Shenzhen to a $90B global mega-company. With over 180,000 employees in 170 countries, Huawei’s commitment to bringing their vision to fruition is stronger than ever. It is working, from my perspective; and as a consumer of both telecommunication services and electronics, the Huawei brand has significantly changed for good.
In fact, in 2016, the openness of Filipino consumers to the brand has increased to over 400% in terms of brand consideration versus 2014 and 2015. If ever you’re using a Huawei device right now – smartphone or WiFi router – then you might be part of the percentage chunk.
We’ll get closer to Huawei sooner than you think
Huawei – as a brand and a technology enabler – will become closer to us as consumers in the future. In terms of network infrastructure, 5G will slowly creep into the country between 2019 and 2020, and Huawei is an indomitable contributor to our country’s current and future network providers.
In June 2018 alone, Huawei partnered with both Smart and Globe to bring 5G in the Philippines to enable IOT in 2020. This marks the beginning of an entirely different technology that will change the way we live, the smartphone will become a powerful tool that will catalyze the 5G revolution.
In a presentation of How Shu, Senior Director and Head of 5G NR Wireless Connectivity of Huawei, he said that “5G will break grounds along with Cloud Game, Cloud Camera, Cloud MR and Drone.” 5G will follow the innovations Huawei pioneer from Tri-camera, FHD Video, Giga-bits TP, NPU and AI Photo.
According to Shu, if we look into the trend, there are 3 key factors that need to be put into place: content mobility and type. These key factors build a better case for why 5G is going to revolutionize who we live in a fully connected and [digital] connected world.
Among the case studies he presented, the one that really piqued my interest was about smartphone and WiGig-Hotspot. This is where Shu explained why Full HD displays on a smartphone is a far logical implementation than putting a 4k display. Our eyes can’t technically appreciate the difference between a 4K and full HD on a 6-inch screen with 30cm view distance. In 2020, your smartphone is no longer just a smartphone with 5G, but it’s a virtual pipe that can project everything to various screen.
A Huawei in your pocket; a start of a beautiful revolution
Filipinos usually relate smartphones to Huawei, thanks to the marketing initiatives of the company in the country and the face that further catapulted the brand into the mainstream – Pia Wurtzbach. We’ve covered so much about their previous and latest smartphones in our reviews and unboxings, and we’re all witnesses to how they infuse innovations to their brands.
One particular feature that Huawei phones excel in is photography. They embraced this strength when they launched Huawei P9, which features Leica co-engineered lens. They capitalized the consumer positive feedback on Huawei P-series’ superiority in mobile photography, so they continued to produce new phones with Leica Design such as P10 series, P20 series and Mate Series.
A Photo I took from the 118th floor of Shanghai Tower using the Huawei P20 Pro.
Over time, Huawei constantly shifts their focus of the smartphone cameras based on image trends. According to Li Changzhu, Vice President, Handset Business of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Huawei put forward a new concept of smartphone photography based on the trend to embrace the company’s long-standing spirit of innovation. This is their way of renewing Huawei smartphone’s continuous pursuit of ultimate image experience, and to explore the endless possibilities of visual culture.
While Leica design is present in Huawei’s premium series, Changzhu further confirmed that they are working to make lens module that can produce better photos, and effectively bring Leica Design-like photography qualities to midrange devices in the future.
Mobile gamers and game content creators will also have a great time in the future when Huawei starts rolling out GPU Turbo (this 2018) and 5G in 2020. GPU may be likened to overclocking on PC but on a smartphone architecture level. With this feature, consumers who love playing games will be able to enjoy faster frame rates and undistracted gaming on their Huawei phones.
With 5G in the future, there is no need to have a powerful GPU and mobile phones will slowly become more inexpensive thanks to cloud assisted gaming. Local rendering will be replaced by streaming and component thermal issues will not become an issue anymore.
The Roadblocks Ahead
Standing between Huawei’s global success and the realization of its vision are politics, border disputes, and “gawang China, madaling masira“ remarks. Including politics and border disputes in technology are seen as immature remarks, which technically show a shallow understanding of the subject.
Conversely, among these roadblocks, the only remark that can be part of the context is the latter – “Gawang China, Madaling Masira”.
In the post-script of Huawei Stories, it says, “In difficult times, it is more important than ever to rally one’s troops and gain a competitive advantage. A methodical and strict approach, the pursuit of excellence and being customer-centricity are what ensure the high quality of products and services. These beliefs and practices are the essences of the pioneer spirit of craftsmanship that is at the root of Huawei’s success.”
See more: Huawei puts Customer Centricity at its highest priority
I have personally seen how Huawei conceptualizes, researches and tests their products before putting into production. I have personally seen how Huawei assembles their products in their production lines. I have seen electronics production lines in the past, and I have never seen anything better than Huawei’s. Of course, this isn’t me throwing shade at other Chinese companies, because mind you – I’ve seen OPPO’s and even Cherry Mobile’s production lines, and I also can’t find the reason to logically generalize that if it’s made in China, then it must be “potato”.
Why Huawei?
As consumers, perhaps that right question to ask isn’t ‘Who Huawei’ is but ‘Why Huawei’?
Among all the brands available – each with innate strengths and weaknesses, why would you pick Huawei? The answer is actually just under our noses – you don’t actually have to pick Huawei. Huawei will continue to exist and “survive” in the industry. They do not aim to be the best, but they just simply focus on doing their best. They are not a perfect company, and they don’t produce the perfect devices. They just try to innovate and become excellent at what they do; and hoping that one day, you don’t have to ask these questions, and just simply pick a Huawei device on a whim.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
