Despite the continued U.S. ban, Huawei continues to move forward with its newest award wining P40 series smartphones starting with the P40 Pro, available in Canada July 10. This follows the earlier Huawei eclectic ultra-curved Mate 30 Pro, which also became available in Canada on May 8. My hands-on with the P40 Pro will be out next week. Pricing to be announced. Here’s the skinny from Huawei Canada:
- P40 Series launching in Canada
- July 10 launch
- Models: HUAWEI P40 Pro 5G | HUAWEI P40
- Colours coming to Canadian market: Black / Silver Frost
- GWP offer: HUAWEI Watch GT2 and 50GB Cloud storage for 12 Months
- Huawei also announced the Next Image global photography contest
The P40 Pro cements itself as the best 2020 camera phone with international awards including the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) and DxO Mark. It improves on last year’s P30 Pro in all aspects with the best optical performance on any phone in partnership with German camera maker Leica. The phone’s AI is on steroids with eye popping features that Photoshop would be envious of, like auto removal of a passersby in your photo.
The Mate 30 and P 40 Series do not have Google Mobile Services, meaning no Play Store and core Google apps due to a U.S. Government ban on American companies, including Google, doing business with Huawei. This also means no Maps, Gmail or YouTube apps for Mate 30 Pro or P40 Pro series.
Huawei speed-tracked its very own Huawei Mobile Services including AppGallery, available in more than 170 countries. In a recent HUAWEI Canada Media Day virtual meeting, the company showed off more security levels, curated app content for Canadians, and an increasing number of app content. Like Petal Search to supplement millions of apps to the some 17,000+ apps available for Canadians with Huawei Mate 30 and P40 phones. More Huawei AppGallery updates closer to the P40 Pro July 10 launch date.
Huawei Recognized Internationally by BCG for innovation
2020 will be a challenge for Huawei. Showing the lowest 5.6% increase 2019 global net profits in the past three years and a 2020 Q1 17% decrease in phone sales, the company warned 2020 would be its most difficult year yet, due to COVID-19 and impacted overseas sales due to U.S. trade restrictions.
This week, Huawei’s innovation in the face of U.S. obstacles was awarded with a no. 6 prestigious ranking of The Most Innovative Companies from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Huawei advanced 42 spots from the 50 companies honoured. The Chinese Telecommunication giant was noticed for its rapid development of devices portfolio (smartphones, wearables, smart home devices, Internet of Things and telecommunication infrastructure), expanding its multi-device ecosystem and growing its Huawei AppGallery as an open, app distribution platform. “Huawei is in the middle of an exciting transformation as we build an ecosystem of hardware, software, and services. We look forward to continuing the expansion of our product portfolio in Canada and remain committed to exploring new possibilities through innovation – with a core focus on building the ecosystem of the future,” says Kevin Li, Country Manager, Huawei Canada Consumer Business Group.
Along with the P40 Pro Canadian availability, the Canada Huawei Consumer Business Group highlighted business results and new consumer product lines beyond phones.
Huawei Canada Report
Huawei Canada Consumer Business Group reported impressive growth numbers excluding phone units like telecommunication services, wearables, routers, earphones and tablets for a 527% growth and showing a 29% overall growth for all its products including phones. Huawei is releasing PCs in Canada in 2020.
2019/2020 Q1 Global Huawei results showed a 17% decrease in phone sales versus impressive jumps in PC’s 120%, wearables 60%, routers 70% and earphones 130%.
Huawei still maintains an aggressive stance in R&D and global patents. It is the No. 5 Global investor into R&D with more than US$85 billion invested in the past decade, topping it off with US$18.7 billion in 2019.
The company’s global patent holder number is just as impressive. By 2019, an accumulated 85,000 active patents included 30,000+ granted in China and 50,000+ outside China of which 40,000+ were granted in Europe and the US. 2019 saw 16,243 patents worldwide: 5,147 patents granted in China, 11,096 outside China of which 8,756 were granted in Europe and the U.S. Huawei was 2019’s top European patent applicant.
The new Matebook X Pro features narrow bezels, a 3K 13.9″ screen, Intel 10th Gen processors and more
Huawei also announced the July 1 launch of three new Windows laptops with huge pre-order incentives ranging from the flagship MateBook X Pro (MSRP $2,499) coming with an $800 in pre-order gifts and featuring a 3K 13.9” screen, multi-finger touch screen, Intel 10th Gen i7, discrete graphics, 14.6mm thin and 1.33 kg light.
Check out the other two laptops:
- MateBook 13 / MSRP $1,899 coming with $700 in Pre-order gifts
- MateBook D15 / MSRP $949 coming with $450 in Pre-order gifts
These laptops feature the unique Huawei Share which, with one tap, can share files with a Huawei phone.
Globally, the Huawei Watch GT2 with two-week battery life is No.2 and Tablet in No. 3 categories. The FreeBuds 3 with app-adjustable Active Noise Cancellation have garnered favourable reviews, too.
Despite successful ventures in other products and services, Huawei officials remain optimistic their tier one “Google-less” phones will keep the company’s No. 2 global position in smartphones.