Huawei to press ahead with global strategy

Huawei Technologies, the Chinese technology giant, has reiterated that it will launch the 5G-enabled smartphones during the fourth quarter of this year and press ahead with internationalization plans despite the challenging global environment.

The company made the statement on Tuesday during the global launch of the Honor 20 smartphones in London.

The Chinese firm has been facing restrictions in markets like the United States after it was added to a trade blacklist. The ban prevents US companies from selling components and software to the Chinese firm. Close on the heels of the US move, Google restricted Huawei's access to Android operating system updates and to some mobile services.

Those curbs seemed to have little effect as the Chinese tech giant unveiled Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro at the Battersea Evolution venue in the British capital. The devices feature Huawei's flagship Kirin 980 processor, quad rear cameras, and side-mounted fingerprint scanners, all fronted by a large, 16 centimeter "all-view" display and 32-mega-pixel selfie camera.

The Honor 20 Pro will retail for 599 euros ($669), while the Honor 20 will sell for 499 euros, which equates to 399 pounds ($505) in the UK.

Zhao Ming, president of Honor, said though the current international situation is challenging, the company will continue to work hard and attract young consumers from across the world with cutting-edge products.

The newly unveiled Honor 20 series lineup was already certified under processes known as the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) and the Vendor Test Suite (VTS) before the trade ban came into effect and, because of that certification, will not be directly impacted by the ban, at least for now.

But analysts warn that matters may become more complex when it comes to future security updates.

Huawei Technologies Co confirmed this week it will continue to provide security updates and after-sales service for all of its smartphone and tablet products, including those that have already been sold globally, and those in stock.