During the Consumer Electronics Show, Huawei consumer CEO Richard Yu blamed the supposed "lack of innovation" in the technology market due to the death of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
"Steve Jobs is gone. Now there is a lack of innovation," he said. Jobs was seen by many as one of the few worthy of being a visionary, with the late Apple co-founder helping the firm become the most valuable company on the planet via the launches of the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Yu also criticized South Korean technology giant Samsung, stating that it doesn't utilize high-end materials: "their plastic is cheap".
He then referred to why Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei is the best company in terms of design for two reasons. One being it mixes Asian and European design and the other being it has spirit. "We're a globalized company, so that's why we can do better. And behind all that, we have our spirit. It's very important."
"In the past people understood that the best products came from Apple or Samsung. We want to change this so that people understand that the best products come from Huawei. That's my target."
Due to the firm's history of building lower-end handsets, Yu acknowledged that it'll take time for U.S. carriers to accept its high-end devices. Huawei announced the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate phablet during CES, which it claims to have the world's largest phone screen, as well as the world's most powerful smartphone in the form of the Ascend D2. It also announced its first Windows Phone with the W1.
Responding to comments regarding the sheer size of the Ascend Mate smartphone, as echoed in our hands-on CES 2013 preview, Yu stressed that the device was "more comfortable than the Galaxy Note" due to its design, as well as one-handed mode available for the device's keyboard.
