Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has had a couple of good months as it aims to shed its image as a manufacturer of cheap devices. It released a new and now popular premium phone in September, surpassed rival Xiaomi in sales in their home market and, like Apple, had a glowing Q3 earnings report.
And with Apple boasting of rapid growth in China, Huawei answers the challenge by hiring Apple’s former creative director, Abigail Brody, to be the company’s chief user experience designer.
CNBC reported Brody’s hire after Huawei released a statement saying the company is developing a design studio in the U.S. and that Brody would oversee interface design on all its products.
Photo: LinkedIn
Brody spent 10 years with Apple as a creative director, working on the design of the first iPhone and helping to develop iCloud. After leaving Cupertino in 2011, she became vice president of global design at eBay and PayPal, according to the CNBC report.
Huawei recently introduced the Mate S, a high-end handset that has a pressure-touch screen, much like Apple’s 6s and 6s Plus. Much like Apple saw year-on-year growth in China, sales of Huawei devices saw similar spikes in the Middle East and Africa.
It is expanding internationally and exploring whether to sell its successful Mi Note and Mi Note Pro smartphones in the U.S.
Huawei has stated it is on track to see more than 100 million by the end of this year.
Source: CNBC
