Honor hopes new phone will boost UAE market share

Huawei unit's new flagship device called 20 Pro comes with a battery that can last for a full-day of uninterrupted use

Chris Sun Baigong, president of Honor MEA, is confident of increasing UAE market share to 20 per cent by the end of 2019. Courtesy: Honor

Honor - a unit of Huawei - is aiming to capture up to 20 per cent of the UAE’s premium smartphone market with the launch of its new flagship device 20 Pro in Dubai on Tuesday,

"Honor is doing very well in the region, especially in the UAE … our sales grew nearly 268 per cent yearly in the UAE in the first six months of 2019," Chris Sun Baigong, president of Honor Middle East Africa, told The National. 

“We are confident of achieving the same growth in the second half [of 2019] and to grow our market share in premium segment [smartphones priced Dh2,000] to up to 15 to 20 per cent in the Emirates. Good sales of 20 Pro will be instrumental in achieving this target.”

Priced at Dh1,999, 20 Pro will go on sale on August 2 in stores and online.

In terms of UAE market share, Honor is currently trailing behind Samsung, Huawei and Apple, with a market share of less than 10 per cent.

Honor, whose budget smartphones compete with Oppo and Samsung, grew its market share in the UAE by more than fivefold last year, according to Germany-based researcher GfK.

Honor devices also helped Huawei surpass Apple for the first time to take second position in terms of global market share last year, according to International Data Corporation.

The Honor 20 Pro is also set to create a stir in the region with its benchmark camera capabilities.

“20 Pro has reimagined the smartphone camera in ways that were not possible before, allowing professional photographers and enthusiasts to express their creativity and capture their life moments in ultra-clarity, low-lit environment and in beautiful detail.”

It is equipped with a 4,000 milli-Ampere hours battery that can run for a full-day uninterrupted use without going flat while its super-large 256GB storage provides the headroom for extreme demands.

20 Pro was launched globally in London in May, this year.