Huawei Consumer Business Group has scheduled the Africa launch of its newest devices in the P series, the P10 and P10+, within the next ten weeks.

Global sales of the new devices, unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 over the past twenty-four hours, will begin in China and Europe in March before being made available for purchase in South Africa and other parts of Africa by the end of April 2017.

Launches for Russia, other parts of Asia as well as Latin America are also set for April, according to Huawei.

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei Consumer Business Group detailed the features of the P10 and P10+ late on Sunday afternoon in Barcelona a day ahead of the official start of the 2017 leg of MWC.

"With Huawei P10 and P10+ we have created a smartphone that revolutionises and redefines portrait photography. Thanks to the evolution of our partnership with Leica Camera, users now have an incredible Leica front camera on their Huawei device in addition to the rear. To match this innovation inside, Huawei's partnership with Pantone Color Institute ensures that the devices are equally as beautiful on the outside."

Yu emphasised the photographic features of the P10 and P10+ which include 3D facial detection technology as well as enhanced lighting effects that can be used to make subjects stand out in different lighting conditions.

Retail prices for this latest version of Huawei's flagship smartphone series will start at US$686 for the P10, while the P10+ (64GB + 4GB) will retail for €738 and the P10+ (128GB + 6GB) for US$844.

Xu Wenwei, Chief Strategy Marketing Officer at Huawei acknowledged that many may regard the cost of the new devices as prohibitive for customers in emerging markets such as Africa.

"The real challenge is how to offer smartphones with a reasonable cost and at a reasonable price. It has always been Huawei's principle that the product itself must be of high quality and it should use advanced technologies. We try to control the cost so that the price will be accessible for the consumers. We have managed to lower the costs while sharing benefits across the value chain, but we have got one bottom line and that is quality. We would not sacrifice quality and we guarantee it for all the markets. Even if (the) price will be different (across the device range) the quality will be guaranteed."

Huawei also announced that it is partnering with Pantone Color Institute to launch the devices in two colours: PANTONE Greenery, the official PANTONE Colour of the Year 2017, and a blue shade which Huawei is offering as Dazzling Blue.

Huawei also revealed a new partnership with GoPro for an app that is to be included on the two new smartphones. These partnerships are in addition to what the company says is a harnessed relationship it has with Saatchi Gallery and Leica Camera for photography which will differentiate the P10 and P10 + devices in the market.

Oliver Kaltner, CEO Leica Camera says their partnership with Huawei allows Leica to demonstrate to millions of customers that professional imagery can be achieved on a smartphone.

"...our expertise in lenses and optics can help them (consumers) achieve fantastic portraits. Huawei P10 and P10+ give users all the tools of an artistic portrait studio in their pocket, allowing them to achieve stunning results every time they take a shot."

Huawei has also partnered with Chinese designer Ricostru to develop a new aesthetic for P10 and P10+ accessories, which includes a mini smartphone bag.