Huawei Mate 9 headed to the US despite brand uncertainty
Huawei is placing a lot of faith in its Huawei Mate 9 flagship launch, which it plans on bringing to the US smartphone market in the wake of Samsung’s absence after the Galaxy Note 7 recalls. Huawei believes there is room in the US for its premium phablet, but the Chinese company will be fighting an uphill battle on numerous fronts.
In the United States, the distribution of mobile phones is still handled mainly by carriers. 80% of people who purchase a new phone do so from the carrier of their choice. Because Huawei isn’t a well-known brand in the United States and there are security concerns because it’s a Chinese-based company, service providers may opt out of carrying the Mate 9. That could severely limit the availability of the handset, especially considering members of Congress worried about cyber espionage have banned US wireless carriers from buying Huawei networking equipment.
Huawei is currently the subject of several patent disputes with T-Mobile, which means it’s an unlikely partner in the effort to expand into the US marketplace. Despite that, Huawei is going forward with its plans to launch the Huawei Mate 9 in the US, with sources who are familiar with the company’s plans stating it plans on selling the phone through online shopping platforms like Amazon.
Huawei hasn’t revealed how much the Mate 9 will cost in the United States, but its current retail price elsewhere is about $759 after being converted to US dollars. A market research firm has shown just how hard Huawei will have to fight to gain a piece of the US market. Despite being the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, the company only holds a 0.4% share in the United States. Apple leads the US smartphone market with 29% and Samsung trails at 23%