Huawei announced intentions to increase its focus on the mid-range smartphone market in India over the course of 2017. The Chinese company says it has experienced maximum growth with devices in the Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 (approximately $150 to $300) price range in the country, so it will continue to launch more such affordable products without compromising on build quality or specifications.
Huawei’s smartphone business has been on the rise for the past few years. Earlier in 2017, the company announced it has succeeded in maintaining its position as the world’s third smartphone vendor with a record 10-percent global market share in Q4 2016. According to Sino-Market research, Huawei also managed to grab the number one position in the Chinese smartphone market with an 18.85-percent share in February 2017. Seeing an exponential growth trajectory on a global scale, Huawei also has ambitions in the Indian market. Previously, the company openly admitted it’s aiming to become one of India’s 5 top smartphone manufacturers by the end of 2017.
The company is hoping that offering multiple mid-range products with appealing specs and low price tags will help it beat competitors like OPPO and Vivo which currently dominate the Indian market. Despite Huawei phone sales doubling between the first quarter of 2016 and 2017 in India, its numbers still pale in comparison to the competition. According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei handset sales amounted to only 0.6 percent of phones sold in the country during the first quarter of 2016. This percentage grew to 0.9 percent during the same time period this year, but the company has a long way to go before reaching the top. Even so, Huawei believes it is on the right track. The company’s latest mid-range product is the Enjoy 7 Plus – a handset that sports a 5.5-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution and is powered by the Snapdragon 435 in combination with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Other specifications include a 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front shooter, a 4,000mAh battery, and Android 7.0 Nougat running out fo the box. At first, the Enjoy 7 Plus will be offered only in China, but it’s quite possible the product will also hit the Indian market later this year.