In the past few months, Huawei has released two important devices outside of China: the Mate X6 foldable smartphone and the Mate XT tri-fold smartphone. At the ongoing MWC 2025 mobile show in Barcelona, ​​the Chinese tech company dedicated a large booth to its products, including the Mate XT.

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Huawei's booth at MWC 2025. Photo: CNBC

The expensive devices and presence at a global tech event show Huawei's targeted approach, as well as its efforts to maintain its brand image as an innovative company.

Runar Bjørhovde, an analyst at research firm Canalys, said Huawei was still cautious about re-entering the international smartphone market. With its exceptionally high prices, it was aimed at the wealthiest users.

Huawei was the world's largest phone maker in the second quarter of 2020 after aggressive expansion overseas and success in its home country of China. The company launched many innovative devices at competitive prices and challenged rivals such as Samsung and Apple.

However, it wasn’t long before the US embargo began to hit Huawei. The two biggest effects were the loss of access to cutting-edge chips and the loss of access to Google’s Android operating system. As a result, Huawei’s smartphone business nearly collapsed.

In late 2023, Huawei unexpectedly returned with a phone model equipped with an advanced chip that many thought was impossible.

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Huawei Mate X6 billboard at MWC 2025. Photo: CNBC

MWC used to be Huawei’s playground, from sponsoring straps and badges for attendees to grand product launches. While not what it used to be, the Chinese company’s booth is still huge, with a mix of smartphones and telecommunications equipment.

Analysts say Huawei will have a hard time replicating its success in China on the global stage without Google Android. “I don’t think they can make it back into the international market without full Google services,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of data and analytics at research firm IDC.

Research firm Counterpoint says Android is present in 80% of smartphones globally. Outside China, Android users are familiar with the Google Play Store as well as other apps like Gmail and Chrome.

While Huawei has its own operating system called HarmonyOS, it can’t offer the Google apps that most people use. Combined with building the right device portfolio, operations team, and marketing resources—which would take years to rebuild—“expanding the smartphone business outside of China would be a huge challenge,” Bjørhovde said.

(According to CNBC)