Huawei also plans to launch smartphones using Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system later this year or early next year, Wan Biao, CEO of Huawei Device, said in an interview on Monday at the company's headquarters in the southern city of Shenzhen.
"We're still in the mode of investing actively for the next 1-2 years, so it will be a big challenge to achieve high profitability," Wan said. "We expect our consumer devices division's revenues to increase by 30 per cent next year, with smartphones growing at least 40 per cent."
Huawei, which has diversified into mobile phones, expects sales of its consumer devices - including mobiles, tablets and data cards - to rise by around a third this year from $6.8 billion last year, a senior executive said in May, adding the business could hit sales of $30 billion in five years as the unit matches the flagship telecoms gear business as a revenue driver.
The company has said it aims to ship more than 100 million mobile phones this year, including 60 million smartphones to increase its global market share.
Global smartphone shipments will reach 1.7 billion in 2017, up from 450 million last year - of which around 160 million were sold in emerging markets - Ovum said in a report on Monday.
Wan said Huawei was considering developing its own smartphone operating system, but he gave no timeframe for this.
While its consumer products are widely accepted, Huawei's telecoms equipment business has hit roadblocks in the United States and more recently, in Australia, over security issues.
In July, Huawei posted a 22 per cent drop in first-half operating profit, citing the "significant challenge" of the global economy and the telecoms equipment market.
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