An advertisement of Huawei Nova 9 in Beijing Photo: VCG

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei held a launch event in Vienna, Austria on Thursday for its 4G nova 9 series, which was the first smartphone debut in 2021 in Europe, one day after a new flagship store was officially opened in the Vienna city center.

The nova 9 was also the company's first smartphone debut in 2021 in Europe. Analysts said that the move showed that Huawei remains commited to overseas smartphone markets, notably the European market, despite challenges such as the US' chip ban.

It was unclear on Thrusday whether the smartphone will run on the company's own HarmonyOS. A recent article published on Huawei's community site said that Huawei users outside China will have the chance to try a HarmonyOS-powered device for the first time with the nova 9 series. 

"Of particular interest is the multi-camera video recording mode, which allows the phone to connect to other HarmonyOS devices within the same Wi-Fi network and control their cameras. It remains to be seen whether this feature will be available outside of China," read the article.

The move mainly aims to show the company's presence in Europe amid a setback in the overseas smartphone market due to the US chip ban, and it's also a demonstration of confidence for its business partners and consumers in Europe, Ma Jihua, an industry analyst and a close follower of Huawei, told the Global Times on Thursday. "It's a vow that it won't leave Europe," Ma said.

On Wednesday, Huawei opened one of its largest flagship stores in Europe in central Vienna. It is located on the Kerntenstrasse, which is said to be one of Europe's most prestigious strolling routes, media reports said.

Ma said the launch also comes amid slow progress of 5G development in Europe, and the 4G version of the nova 9 series may still have some market there.

The nova 9 series was launched in China a month earlier than in Europe. As presales for China's annual online 11-11 shopping spree kicked off on Wednesday, some models of the nova 9 were shown as "out of stock" on e-commerce platforms.

But analysts also warned that the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS) on the phone may still put the nova series in a difficult position, and market supplies for the new products could also be limited.

According to media reports, Huawei also launched other products during the event in Vienna on Thursday, including MateView, a new professional and gaming monitor, which will also become a part of the HarmonyOS ecosystem.

Huawei's HarmonyOS 2.0 reached another milestone on Thursday - 120 million devices

The company will also hold the Huawei Developers' Conference 2021 on Friday, during which it will explore what's new with HarmonyOS, smart homes, smart offices, and Huawei Mobile Services Core.