Huawei hopes to make a big splash in North America with Google-backed Nexus flagship

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The device, together with the cheaper and smaller LG made Nexus 5X, were announced weeks ago, but while the Nexus 5X is available to ship right now, the Nexus 6P remains curiously Out of Stock in Google's online store.

Not exactly a household name in smartphones, Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is actually the third largest phone vendor in the world with a heavy presence in Asia where it is common for consumers to carry two or even three devices under various carriers. Huawei is using its Google-backed Nexus 6P flagship to get noticed in the US and Canada as well as showcase their design and engineering talent.

We sat down yesterday with Ron Cihocki, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Manager of Huawei. "We're all about value, innovation and quality," Cihocki explained as he presented the unlocked Google Nexus 6P smartphone and the Huawei Watch wearable to media yesterday hours before a lavishly decorated coming out party at the Acadian court in downtown Toronto.

This was a good opportunity for me to check out the new hardware and hear about the Nexus strategy, since Google Canada has not shown off or demoed these new devices.

Cihocki noted that while relatively a small player in North America, Huawei has been constant option in the budget and pre-paid market offering capable yet inexpensive options. Back in China, however, Huawei has been pushing the envelope across its range of phones from cheap phones to high-spec flagships which compete with the types of features that manufacturers like LG and Samsung offer, but at a more affordable price.

Google's new Chosen Partner

Google, which miscalculated the public's desire for a large Pure Android smartphone last year with the Motorola-made Nexus 6, suffered the ire of fans and detractors alike, many of whom held on to their ageing Nexus 5 devices which was the last relatively affordable Nexus device to hit the market.

This year, Google paid fan service by employing LG to create the Nexus 5X (first OEM to do three Nexus devices), and pulled a shocker by going with Huawei to create the flagship Nexus 6P, which was designed and engineered by Huawei starting just after January's  International Consumer Electronic's Show (CES).

We're finally here

The Huawei Watch is an Android Wear smartwatch designed to be a timepiece first and accessory second

"There's an element of finally, we're here," Cihocki says. The Nexus 6P seems like a great start and is already being hailed as the best Android smartphone in the market by some early reviewers.

As a Nexus device, it showcases Google's latest Android Marshamallow OS, a 5.7-inch WQHD AMOLED display with a dense 518 pixels per inch, a fingerprint sensor for access control and for Android Pay mobile payments, an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1, processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with an Adreno 430 GPU, a 12 megapixel camera and  a large 3450 mAh Battery as well as a new standard in the USB Type C charging port.

At first glance, the Nexus 6P looks and feels like a premium handset reflective of its CAD $700 starting price (contract free) for the 32GB version. A 64GB version will cos CADt $749 and a 128GB version will cost CAD $849 plus tax and shipping. So while priced below the Nexus 6, this is still very much in the premium handset pricing territory.

The fact that it is a Nexus device means that it will likely inherit millions of Nexus fans who have been waiting and saving up for a proper Pure Android device.

The biggest issue with Nexus devices, which seems to be true with the Nexus 6P is lack of initial online stock which may put potential buyers off and made them look elsewhere.

The device, together with the cheaper and smaller LG made Nexus 5X was announced weeks ago, but while the Nexus 5X is available to ship right now, the Nexus 6P remains curiously Out of Stock in Google's online store.

It seems even review units are extremely tight as well and in high demand, which is very surprising for a device that's positioned to create a lot of buzz and excitement at a time where there is no shortage of newly-released and upcoming flagship and mid-tier Android devices in the market. 

This is really the challenge that Nexus devices and Huawei need to face up to. Specially with players like OnePlus, Motorola, Alcatel OneTouch, ASUS and ZTE fielding their own relatively reasonably priced mid-tier and high end smartphones.

York Barrington, sales and marketing manager for Huawei Canada explained that Huawei has studied inventory and supply requirements and assured me that there are enough Nexus 6P units for buyers. Aside from being sold online via Google, the Nexus 6P will be available from Rogers, TELUS and Bell as well as Wind and Videotron.

Many will welcome Huawei as a new competitor in the Android space, with Google's blessing and support, the Nexus 6P is likely going to be a runaway success in the established market of Nexus loyalists, provided the phone is readily available online and through various carriers at a reasonable price. Stay tuned for my full review of the Nexus 6P in the coming weeks.