Huawei is a major player in mobile, but most U.S. consumers have probably never heard of the company. That could change in 2015.
Huawei has revealed that it plans to begin selling its Honor brand of smartphones — which includes the new Honor 6 Plus — in the U.S. sometime in 2015. Details of Huawei’s plan of attack aren’t yet known, but the company intends to rely on digital advertising to get its name out there.
There’s no question that Huawei’s got a challenge ahead of itself if it wants to become a major player in the U.S. market. Not only does it not have the same marketing budget as biggies like Apple and Samsung, but it’s also got to figure out how to crack the U.S. smartphone sales picture. Most Americans buy their phones on-contract or on installments from a carrier, while Huawei typically deals in unlocked phones. Unlocked phones may be (slowly) growing in popularity in the U.S., but the vast majority of devices are still sold by the carriers. Huawei’s either going to need to buddy up with the carriers or figure out how to convince consumers to buy more unlocked devices.
Do you think Huawei will be able to gain some U.S. smartphone market share in 2015?
