Huawei released the Mate 20 Pro in Japan November 30 with a clear goal of offering a lower priced smartphone in the Japanese market where carrier subsidies are going away and iPhone XR sales rumored to be so-so. IT Media Mobile reports that Huawei’s Jeff Wang, regional president for Japan and Korea said that, “long-term the Japanese mobile market is becoming a fair and level one” competitively, with opportunities to offer users “revolutionary products.” The remark clearly alluded to the Japan Fair Trade Commission investigation of Apple iPhone sales strategy in Japan which resulted in the call to end carrier subsidies.
There’s just one catch: only the Docomo Huawei P20 has FeliCa, the Mate 20 Pro does not.
Wang said Huawei recognizes the need for FeliCa in the Japanese market and is working to add global FeliCa to all Huawei smartphone models. If this turns out to be true, Huawei will first smartphone manufacturer to follow Apple’s lead in adding global FeliCa. The sooner global FeliCa becomes a boring standard check box item for smartphone manufacturers everywhere the better.