P20, 20 Pro will form the backbone of Huawei’s attack on Samsung & Xiaomi

According to a new report by counterpoint, the P20, and P20 Pro, together with the lower-cost P20 Lite, will form the backbone of Huawei's attack on Samsung and its defense against a surging Xiaomi.

The report said that Huawei is doing well in its home China market. It also punches above its weight in Italy, Spain and a few smaller European markets like Finland. But it has massive upside potential in the UK and France, where it's currently underperforming relative to its average European market share.

The firm also pointed out that the competitive environment is getting much tougher for Huawei; Nokia HMD is also developing a strong portfolio and it has a brand that consumers, especially in Europe, are familiar with and have warm feelings toward. More concerning for Huawei is the arrival in Europe of Xiaomi - a player that will hit hard in the spec comparison. Huawei has resisted playing the low-price card - Xiaomi has not. And in the markets in Europe where Huawei is strongest - such as Spain - consumers are likely to respond well to Xiaomi's offer.

Once again Huawei has eschewed the fashionable wireless charging for the, arguably, much more useful fast-charging. And with a 4000mAH battery in the Pro version, a full day's use is almost guaranteed for the vast majority of heavy users, the firm said.

The AI function has been enhanced in the P20 - it now features detection of 19 scenes - six more than on the Mate 10 with which it shares the Kirin 970 SoC with an integrated neural processing unit (NPU).

The P20 Pro will hit the streets in the next few weeks with a street price in Europe of Euro 899. This is below iPhone X and Galaxy S9 Plus. This is smart pricing by Huawei. It also launched the Mate 10 Porsche RS, which handily tops the iPhone X for the most expensive mainstream smartphone.

Huawei P9 TIps & Tricks

"We also expect a massive media push for the P20. Huawei is not now able to launch in the US as it had planned, so it should be able to invest in stronger brand development in Europe and other regions where its brand is still not top-of-mind among consumers. Though where Huawei really needs to work hard is in social media and other channels inhabited by millennials - this is not necessarily expensive but does require intensive consistent effort. And this doesn't mean posting artificial product reviews, something it was caught doing in the few channels in the US where it did have distribution," the firm added.