China's Huawei Technologies Co. aims to overtake Samsung Electronics Co. SSNHZ 0.00 % and Apple Inc. within the next five years to become the world's biggest smartphone maker with a market share of over 25%, a senior executive said.
"We want to be the number-one smartphone maker in the world. It's a long distance race, and we have the patience," said Huawei director Richard Yu, who heads the company's consumer electronics business, at the Converge technology conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal and f.ounders in Hong Kong.
Shenzhen-based Huawei, along with Sweden's Ericsson, is one of the world's largest suppliers of telecom networking gear. Over the past few years, the Chinese company has also been growing rapidly as a handset maker.
Mr. Yu's latest comments come as Huawei is narrowing the gap with Samsung and Apple in the global smartphone market, where overall growth has been slowing. In the first quarter, Huawei's smartphone sales volume increased 59% from a year earlier, while Samsung's sales remained almost fl at and Apple's sales declined 14%, according to research firm Gartner Inc. IT 1.01 % Huawei's market share in the quarter rose to 8.3%, behind Samsung's 23% and Apple's 15%.
While increasing its market share, Huawei has also been focusing more on high-end products, such as its latest flagship phone, the P9, which features a dual-lens camera it developed in cooperation with German optics company Leica Camera AG.
"Our growth is mainly coming from the high-end, premium segment," Mr. Yu said. "If you want to be the leading vendor you have to lead in the high-end."
Mr. Yu said that Huawei's partnership with Leica is an exclusive long-term alliance and he expects the collaborations to continue at least for the next five years.
He also said that Huawei is pushing further into new technologies such as virtual reality. Based on its partnership with Alphabet Inc. GOOGL -0.56 % 's Google, which provides a VR software platform, the company plans to release a new VR-compatible smartphone this fall, he said.
Huawei's smartphone sales have been growing fast not only in China but also in Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world. In the U.S., however, the company still has a minimal presence.
Huawei's telecom networking equipment, such as base stations and antennas, has effectively been banned in the U.S. after a 2012 congressional report recommended that U.S. carriers avoid Huawei's gear, citing concerns that it could be used by Beijing to spy on Americans. Huawei has repeatedly denied such allegations.
Mr. Yu said that the U.S. cybersecurity concerns about Huawei's networking equipment won't affect the company's efforts to sell smartphones in the market. "Consumers only want to have better products," he said.
Mr. Yu said that Huawei is in discussions to sell smartphone through U.S. telecom carriers, wi thout disclosing any specific product launch plans.
Huawei has been investing billions of dollars to beef up its patent portfolio that enables it to compete with Samsung and Apple in overseas markets. Last year, Huawei spent $9.2 billion in research and development, higher than the $8.1 billion Apple reported spending but below Samsung's $12.5 billion.
Write to Juro Osawa at juro.osawa@wsj.com
Source: Huawei Aims to Overtake Samsung and Apple in Smartphones
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