Huawei made another move on the U.S. smartphone market this week at CES with the launch of its Honor 6X smartphone.
Originally unveiled back in October at a press event in China, the mid-range, $250 Honor 6X boasts dual rear 12 mp and 2 mp cameras, as well as a 3340 mAh battery that Huawei said offers more than two days of “normal” use on one charge.
Like its Honor 5X predecessor, the Honor 6X comes with a 5.5-inch display but doubles the 5X’s 16 GB of storage to offer 32 GB (expandable to 128 GB) to U.S. customers. Global customers, however, will have access to up to 64 GB of internal storage at a slightly higher cost ($299). The 6X also has a front camera that is a step up from the 5X, with 8 mp resolution compared to the 5X’s 5 mp.
Like the 5X, the 6X will come with the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and Huawei’s EMUI, but the processor has been upgraded to Huawei’s own Kirin 655 Octa-core chip. Connectivity options offered with the device include Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth, according to the device specs.
Though it’s already available in China, Huawei said the 6X in gold, silver, and grey will go on sale today in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The move to launch the device in the United States marks Huawei’s latest attempt to gain market share in the region as part of its bid to surpass Samsung and Apple as the top smartphone vendor. The company took a first step back in August when it launched its Honor brand in the U.S. market with the release of the $400 Honor 8.
Huawei said its Honor brand – which was launched in 2013 – focuses on “giving digital natives the types of devices that fit their lifestyle.” The brand also relies heavily on a customer base that buys its products almost exclusively online, a strategy that lends itself to Huawei’s position facing a dearth of carrier partnerships in the country.
