未來手機就像機器人

Few consumers had even heard of Huawei in 2011, the year in which its board decided to focus on breaking into the Smartphone market in a big way.

2011年那會兒，還沒有多少消費者聽說過華為(Huawei)，就在這一年，華為董事會決定集中精力，大舉進軍智慧手機市場。

The company’s portfolio of cheap, low-tech devices had led many to mark the group down as just another “me-too” Chinese white-label manufacturer. But six years on, Huawei has achieved its ambition. As well as now being one of the world’s leading suppliers of telecoms equipment, ranking alongside Sweden’s Ericsson, it has also become the third-biggest vendor of smartphones by market share, according to research company Gartner.

華為推出了一系列低價、低技術含量的手機產品，讓許多人以為該集團不過是又一家跟風的中國“白標”製造商。但6年過去，華為實現了自己的雄心壯志。根據研究公司Gartner的資料，華為現在不僅是全球領先的電信裝置供應商，與瑞典愛立信(Ericsson)齊名，還成為按市場份額計全球第三大的智慧手機供應商。

The Chinese company has aspirations to be number one as it moves to make more expensive devices aimed at western markets. In 2011, it shipped 1m handsets. Last year, this figure rose to more than 139m.

這家中國企業渴望成為第一，它已在針對西方市場製造價位更高的裝置。2011年華為手機發貨量為100萬部，去年這一數字超過了1.39億。

“Smartphones are becoming some kind of commodity [at the middle and lower end] but technology is evolving,” says Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business since 2011.

華為消費者業務執行長餘承東(Richard Yu)表示：“智慧手機正成為某類商品（就中低檔來說），但技術還在發展。”他自2011年起開始擔任這一職務。

The P9, launched last year, was Huawei’s first premium handset to break the sales mark of 10m units. The smartphone, which includes an advanced camera developed in partnership with Leica, was launched with the price of ￡480 for the most basic model.

去年推出的P9是華為首款突破1000萬部銷量的高階手機。這款智慧手機配備了與徠卡(Leica)合作開發的高階攝像頭，發售時基本款定價為480英鎊。

However, Mr Yu says that smartphone sales are not the limit of Huawei’s ambitions, as the company looks to move into artificial intelligence and the realm of everyday connected devices, known as the internet of things.

但餘承東表示，華為所追求的並不限於賣智慧手機，該公司還希望進軍人工智慧和日常連線裝置——即物聯網——領域。

While smartphones will stay a core part of the business, Huawei is investing more in services that the phones can deliver as a means to drive future sales.

華為仍將把智慧手機作為一塊核心業務，但目前已在加大投資研發能夠在手機上提供的服務，以此作為推動未來銷售增長的手段。

The goal is to create new uses for smartphones, for instance by building applications around virtual and augmented reality — either with the addition of goggles that immerse the user in a virtual world, or by imposing virtual dressing on real-world views.

其目標是開創智慧手機的新用途，例如開發虛擬現實、增強現實應用——或是通過眼鏡使使用者沉浸在虛擬世界，或是將虛擬服裝覆蓋在真實世界影像上。

Mr Yu says Huawei is investing in VR, which he predicts will become integrated within smartphones.

餘承東說華為正在投資虛擬現實，他預測該技術將被整合到智慧手機上。

Even more important, he says, will be artificial intelligence linked to smartphones.

他說，更重要的是將人工智慧與智慧手機聯絡起來。

Huawei has plans to rival the big western technology groups such as Apple and Amazon in creating voice-controlled search and response assistants. Mr Yu says that Huawei is investing “huge money” in research and development in this field. Future virtual assistants will adapt themselves to a user’s preferences, their actions and reactions based on data received from smartphones that are packed full of sensors.

華為已有開發語音控制搜尋及應答助理的計劃，希望與蘋果(Apple)、亞馬遜(Amazon)等西方科技巨頭一較高下。餘承東表示華為在該領域的研發上投入了“巨資”。未來的虛擬助理將能夠調整自身去適應使用者的偏好，它們的動作和反應基於裝有感測器的智慧手機所接收的資料。

Customers will no longer touch a screen to access services, they will just talk to their device. “There will be a smart and natural interaction with human beings,” Mr Yu says. “Huawei is working more and more on AI and VR. The smartphone becomes my personal assistant.

屆時使用者將不再需要以觸屏方式來使用各項服務，他們只需與自己的裝置交談。餘承東說：“裝置與人之間將進行聰明、自然的互動。華為越來越多地致力於人工智慧和虛擬現實。智慧手機已經成了我的個人助理。”

“Behind the smartphone are big data and AI processing,” he adds. “The phone in the future is like a robot.”

他說：“智慧手機的背後是大資料和人工智慧處理。未來的手機就像一個機器人。”

One reason for this strategic shift is that its phone sales are being challenged by low-cost rivals in Shenzhen, where Huawei has its headquarters. Some analysts also warn that the smartphone market is becoming saturated.

這一戰略性轉變的原因之一是，華為在手機銷售方面日益受到深圳低成本競爭對手的挑戰，深圳是華為總部所在地。一些分析師還警告說智慧手機市場正日趨飽和。

For now, however, Huawei is the top-selling smartphone maker in China, according to research company Counterpoint. Overseas shipments account for nearly 50 per cent of its total handset sales.

不過根據研究公司Counterpoint的資料，目前華為是中國銷量第一的智慧手機制造商，海外發貨量佔其手機總銷量的近一半。

Mr Yu adds that there are still ways to boost sales by improving the design of smartphones, not least by upgrading their digital cameras further.

餘承東表示，還是有辦法來擴大手機銷售，比如通過改進智慧手機的設計，尤其是進一步升級手機的數碼攝像頭。

He says that work is also being done to improve battery life, a frequent demand of device users across many brands.

他表示華為也在致力於延長電池壽命，這是許多品牌裝置使用者的常見要求。

Huawei has experimented with wearables. Its Huawei Watch 2, which uses the Android operating system, has online connectivity and acts as a fitness monitor, was launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

華為已試水可穿戴裝置領域，華為Watch 2搭載安卓(Android)作業系統，可以連網，還能當做健身監測器，該裝置於本週在巴塞羅馬世界行動通訊大會(Mobile World Congress)上釋出。

The company still faces some hurdles on its way to the top sales spot, however. Its name is still not as well known as those at the pricier end of the market. Mr Yu also says the company needs more time to build penetration in the US, where it is “behind” compared to other parts of the world.

不過，在邁向全球銷售榜首的道路上，華為依然面臨一些障礙。它仍不如市場上那些高階品牌知名。餘承東還表示華為需要更多時間擴大在美國的滲透，與全球其他地區的情況相比，華為在該市場“落在後面”。