IFA: Technology emphasizes privacy, security and “B plans” in the face of a commercial war | Technology

The commercial war between the United States and China looms like a cloud over the big technology companies, which seek to weather the storm, emphasizing privacy and security. But the "B plans" are not discarded either.

Uncertainty is one of the big issues at the IFA in Berlin, the largest technology fair in Europe, which since Friday has this issue as constant in debates and corrillos, among the news, announcements and neon of the big brands.

Fears in the sector are based. According to a study by the consultant GfK this year will be the first in a decade in which global mobile phone sales will fall, a 1% drop according to their estimates.

In the spotlight is particularly the Chinese Huawei, the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world. Washington has denounced that its equipment for 5G networks is not safe, a new standard that will multiply the speed on the internet, and has put the company on its blacklist, which greatly limits its chances of interacting with US companies.

For this reason, Huawei has not yet confirmed whether its new flagship mobile, the Mate 30, which will be presented in just two weeks, will count as its predecessors with the Android operating system, Google, and the most popular applications of the American giant, such as Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps.

"We are committed to the Android ecosystem, but we have a plan B," said cryptic Walter Ji, the head of Western Europe for the Huawei Consumer division, to a question from Efe in a meeting with journalists.

That "plan B" goes through its own operating system, the Harmony OS, which the Chinese company already markets, but not in its higher-end terminals, which could affect its sales, especially outside of China.

"We face political challenges," said Ji, who however guaranteed privacy on their phones – "they have no backdoor", or security hole for Chinese secret services – and the security of their 5G telecommunications equipment, which have already acquired "50 countries".

None of its competitors want to openly refer to Huawei, but the issue is in the air at the fair. The head of Marketing for Europe of the latter, Benjamin Braun, touched the issue, indirectly but obviously, in the presentation wheel of Samsung at the IFA.

"Now we can only dream" about the future potential of 5G networks, he said, but for this to become a reality, "secure infrastructure" is needed, and he said that his is a "reliable" company that produces everything from telecommunications equipment to phones and microchips for 5G.

In this regard, Celestino García, corporate vice president of Samsung Iberia, said in statements to Efe that “security is a fundamental axis” and that it is necessary that “the devices are robust, secure and offer privacy to the end user and security to big institutions. ”

Miguel Fernández, general director of Marketing of LG Spain, explained to Efe that this technology has the ability to revive mobile phone sales, as it represents a qualitative leap, compared to an already mature market.

What they agree with is that the trade war between China and the United States is not positive for any company, as it hinders chain production, slows investments and innovation and can curb demand.

“We are not interested in a trade war. We are interested in open and competitive markets that allow a transaction of goods and materials as powerful as possible, ”said Garcia.

Fernandez said for his part that "companies with a vocation for innovation" do not like trade wars: "What we want is to talk about technology and innovation and not these things, which overshadow a lot."

However, he acknowledged that in the US-China bid, Korean companies may have a point in their favor by appearing to many consumers as "neutral" and far from national interests.

“We are being able to be pointers like each other, but at the same time maintain that proximity with the two poles. This is something that Korean companies are helping us with, ”he admitted.