Huawei’s Honor brand is easily one of its most popular in recent years. The relatively inexpensive brand targets younger consumers who desire top specifications and features with at a reasonable price point.
Huawei has seen the Honor brand grow from 2.4 million units shipped in 2014 to more than 6 million units shipped in 2015. The company now hopes to grow those numbers even more in 2016 with its introduction to the U.S. market. The Honor 5X made its American debut at CES 2016 Tuesday evening.
Devices like the Honor 7 have been top sellers in markets like China, the U.K. and Australia. The two-year-old brand has been available in key markets including Mexico, Germany, the United Emirates, India, China, Russia and Japan. However, similar to many other mobile brands popular in the Eastern markets, Huawei overall has had trouble breaking into the U.S. market for a myriad of reasons, including issues getting the proper certifications for its proprietary components like is Kirin processor. However, it is primarily a lack of brand recognition that has kept Huawei out of the American high-end.
Huawei has done considerable preparation before attempting to break into the U.S. as a well-recognized lifestyle brand. Honor president George Zhang explained at the Honor 5X launch Tuesday evening, the company’s revamped marketing strategy, which favors internet marketing and social media over traditional or broadcast marketing. Honor also has a dedicated online community, where fans participate in the development and optimization of Honor products and services.
The Honor brand, including the Honor 5X, also sells online only. “We connect directly with the consumer through the internet,” Zhang said at the launch event.
Though Huawei has focused largely on the low-end market in the U.S. for years, the manufacturer gotten a taste of the premium spotlight with the Nexus 6P, which launched as a Google flagship in late September 2016. Pundits have speculated that Huawei’s collaboration with Google was its was of getting the American market acclimated to the brand, to further move in with devices like the Honor 5X.
The Honor 5X couples with an impressive $199.99 price tag with features including a metal unibody design, a 3,000mAh battery, dual-SIM slots, expandable storage and a fingerprint sensor. Many have noted its design similarities to the Honor 7 smartphone. The Honor 5X is currently available for preorder and will release on Jan. 31.
Checkout some shots and video of the Honor 5X by Huawei below.
