"Chicken Instead of Pheasant"... Online New Product Launches Continue Following MWC Cancellation

[Asia Economy Reporter Seolgina Jo] Due to the threat of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which attracts about 100,000 visitors annually, was canceled, leading global IT companies to unveil new products through internet broadcasts during this period, creating a unique spectacle. China's Huawei introduced its foldable smartphone, and Japan's Sony showcased its first 5G flagship model via pre-recorded broadcasts and YouTube, respectively.

According to economic broadcaster CNBC and others, Huawei held its own online event on the 24th (local time) in Barcelona, Spain, announcing a new product lineup including the foldable smartphone Mate Xs. The online event was conducted by streaming a pre-recorded video over the internet. This was Huawei's first time holding a product launch via internet broadcast.

Originally, Huawei planned to set up the largest exhibition booths across four halls at the MWC scheduled to be held in Barcelona from that day, aiming for extensive product promotion. However, with the cancellation of MWC for the first time in 33 years due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, they reluctantly chose the online platform as a global promotional venue.

The new foldable smartphone Mate Xs unveiled by Huawei on this day will be sold globally starting in March. The price is set at 2499 euros (approximately 3.3 million KRW) for the premium version. When folded, it has a 6.6-inch display (front), and when unfolded, an 8-inch display, equipped with the self-developed 5G Kirin 990 chipset. Huawei also revealed a high-performance smart speaker, the MatePad Pro 5G tablet PC, and laptops MateBook X Pro and MateBook D featuring 14-inch and 15-inch screens, respectively.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Huawei is considered one of the companies most severely impacted by the COVID-19 aftermath. However, Huawei did not make any specific remarks regarding COVID-19 on this occasion. CNBC pointed out, "Huawei, targeted by the US-led trade war, was again unable to equip its new products with Google Android," adding, "Another headwind Huawei faces is COVID-19." According to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA), due to COVID-19, smartphone production and demand in China took a direct hit, with Huawei's smartphone shipments in January dropping 39% year-on-year to 12.2 million units.

On the same day, Japan's Sony also held a new product launch event via YouTube instead of the MWC stage. Sony, which recorded a market share in the global smartphone market in the 0% range last year, prominently featured its first 5G flagship model, the Xperia 1 II. Equipped with a 6.5-inch 4K HDR display and a triple camera system featuring ZEISS lenses, the Xperia 1 II is scheduled to be sold globally, including in Japan, starting this spring. The Xperia 10 II and Xperia PRO were also introduced during the online event.

Sony aims to turn around its sluggish mobile business segment with the launch of this 5G flagship model. Looking at Sony's quarterly results released in December last year, mobile phone sales shrank by about 16% compared to the previous year. Its global market share remained at 0.3%, far behind Samsung Electronics, Apple, and Huawei.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.