Huawei phones move upmarket

With markets nearly saturated, companies need to lure customers with new designs

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's new flagship smartphone will help expand its presence in the premium segment, as the Chinese tech firm ramps up efforts to compete with Apple Inc in the international smartphone arena, analysts said on Friday.

At a product release on Thursday in Munich, Germany, the Shenzhen-based firm unveiled the high-end Mate 9, which targets business customers, as part of its broad efforts to become the world's biggest smartphone seller within five years.