One of the largest phone makers globally, Huawei, is reportedly beginning to tap into the world of voice-enabled virtual assistants, specifically by creating its own, reports suggest.
Huawei Enters The Voice Assistant Game
A team of more than 100 engineers is apparently in the early stages of the voice assistant technology in Huawei's home country, China, as per a report by Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The efforts are reportedly extensive and is meant to output a product that would rival Apple's own voice assistant Siri, Amazon's Alexa, and Google's Assistant, instead of small-time voice assistant competitors, the report suggests.
It Might Be China-Exclusive
Huawei's voice assistant's purpose is to specifically communicate in Chinese languages in China, with plans for the company to sustain its relationship with Alexa and Assistant for phones to be released outside China despite its growing traction in those markets.
Building its own version of Siri may aid Huawei in standing out among a crowded Chinese smartphone market, where many of Google's services are blocked.
Huawei Combating Formidable Foes
Huawei has been exerting efforts to compete with Apple, Samsung, and other major phone manufacturers in months. After usurping Xiaomi to become the world's third largest smartphone manufacturer, Huawei is now preparing to take on bigger, fiercer market competitors the likes of Apple and Samsung. Employing its own voice assistant may help it achieve such a feat.
As per a report by MacRumors, Richard Yu, Huawei's consumer head, says that the company hopes to become the top smartphone manufacturer globally by 2021, which to achieve in four years is a staggering forecast. Moreover, to do so would require Huawei to break into the U.S. market, an arrival it needs to trumpet more. The company is aiming for $33 billion in sales this year, according to Bloomberg.
Huawei announced last month that its Mate 9 smartphones hitting stateside would come with Alexa support. At present, Google's Assistant is locked to its pair of home-grown flagships, the Pixel and Pixel XL, its smart speaker Home, and Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches, although rumors point to a wider rollout of the voice assistant.
Voice assistants, once a standout feature, could soon see top players other than Apple, Google, and Amazon barreling into the forefront, which could potentially crowd the market, with companies such as Adobe and Samsung planning to steer into that direction.
On a different note, Huawei's most imminent public gig is at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, where it's planning to officially unveil the P10 and, rumors suggest, a new smartwatch. A wealth of leaks has been ascribed recently to the smartphone in question, as with any hyped smartphone nowadays. It suggests the phone will have 8 GB of RAM, run Android Nougat out of the box, a Quad HD display, and pack a Kirin 960 processor.
Thrilled for Huawei's forthcoming smartphone plans? What do you think about its proprietary voice assistant potentially being exclusive to China? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
