Honor issues challenge to big-screen smartphone segment

Chris Sun unveiling the Honor 8X in Dubai late on Tuesday.

Budget-friendly smartphone brand Honor unveiled its latest device, in an apparent direct challenge to the latest big-screen flagships in the market - but only at a fraction of the price. 
The sub-brand of Chinese consumer electronics giant Huawei launched its new Honor 8X, boasting an all-screen 6.5-inch display that puts it at par with the similarly-sized Apple iPhone XS Max and the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Note9 - even outdoing Huawei's own P20 Pro.
The Honor 8X, which was already available at the day of its launch in the UAE, is priced at Dh999. 
"This is one of our most important products," Chris Sun, president of Honor Middle East and Africa, said at the event in Dubai late on Tuesday.
"We are trying to understand what consumers need," he said, pointing to three pillars Honor considers when developing devices - being "young, innovative and trend-setting".
During his presentation, Sun pointed out that research and development was a primary driver in Honor's business story; $60 billion was dedicated by the brand to R&D since 2008, with $13.8 billion earmarked in 2017 alone. 
Worldwide, the company has 14 R&D centres, with 36 joint facilities as well.
Sun added that the MEA region is "one of the most important markets for us". He backed up these words by confirming that the MEA is the first market outside of China that has the Honor 8X on sale.
In terms of market share, Honor has made inroads in key markets. Citing company data, Sun said that the brand is in the top four in the UAE, while it is fifth in Saudi Arabia, having enjoyed 200 per cent and 130 per cent growth, respectively, in 2018. In Egypt, it achieved a 200 per cent month-on-month rise.
The figures are bringing confidence to Honor to step up its business in the region.
"We aim to be the top four smartphone brand in the region by 2019," Sun stressed, "and top three by the end of 2020.
In its home market of China, it is the No.1 smartphone e-brand, while in India, it is in the top two online. 
In Europe, the brand experienced a 500 per cent and 200 per cent growth in Spain and the UK, respectively, while in Italy it is in the top five.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com