Lenovo vows to revive smartphone business

Customers experience Lenovo Group's latest smartphone ZUK Z2, which it unveiled on Tuesday. The newly released smartphone has a 5-inch screen and is equipped with a Snapdragon 820 processor by Qualcomm Inc. [Photo provided to China Daily]

ZUK, one of Lenovo Group's smartphone brands founded last year, issued a 5-inch Z2 in Beijing on Tuesday.

"Lenovo plans big moves in the smartphone sector this year, " said Senior Vice-President Chen Xudong, who last year was named head of Lenovo's China mobile business group to revive its faltering smartphone business..

The Z2 is the second launch of ZUK this year, followed the ZUK Z2 Pro model in April. "We are going to unveil another new product at Lenovo's TechWorld on June 9 in San Francisco, the United States," Chen added.

Declining sales of smartphones and personal computers resulted in the first loss of the Chinese technology giant in six years.

According to its annual fiscal report released on Thursday, the Hong Kong-listed technology company registered a net loss of $128 million for the fiscal year that ended in March. Only one year earlier, Lenovo reported a profit of $829 million.

"Based on our strengths in technology innovation, Lenovo plans to expand our smartphone business from the sectors of the product, brand and channel this year ," said Chen.

The flagship, small-screen ZUK Z2 is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor. Priced at 1,799 yuan ($273), it will be available on June 7.