As Samsung and Apple fight a marketing and innovation war for leadership in the consumer device market, it's easy to imagine it's all about the technology. For one, Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge boasts the most unusual new shape in a smartphone. The curved screen represents a second display on the side of the device, hence its name. The Apple iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, differentiates itself through its sheer simplicity. It's one of the few phablets that is comfortable to use as both phone and mini-tablet.With these two devices leading the war for attention, this week's unveiling of two new flagship devices by Chinese manufacturer Huawei could well have turned into an also-ran affair. In the past two years, the brand has emerged seemingly from nowhere to offer cutting-edge devices - in 2013 and 2014 successively claiming the title of thinnest smartphone in the world with its P6 and P7.This week, it was the turn of the P8, but, unusually, Huawei did not make as big a deal of its super-slim 6.4mm profile, nor of the market-matching technologies built into the sleek device. Instead, the focus was entirely on design.The phone was described as being "deeply rooted in literary tradition, combining elements of ancient manuscripts, illuminated books and the essence of sunlight in stained glass library windows". The design details, the company said, "evoke the pages, bindings and hardcovers of traditional books".That may well be a metaphor too far, but this is also the most elegant phone yet to carry the company's brand.The manufacturer included a "nano-injection moulding process" that allowed for a one-piece aluminium body, while "diamond shape blasting craftsmanship is intended to highlight the texture of the metal".The language of design employed to describe the device echoed an element of the previous week's launch of the HTC One M9 in South Africa, which focused on the crafting of the device as much as on its features.At the same time, however, Huawei also announced a big brother for the P8, namely the P8 Max, with a grip-defying 6.8-inch screen size. That would normally be described as a mini-tablet, but Huawei insists it is a smartphone. With a massive 4360milliampere-hour battery, it is intended to offer a couple of days' usage between charges.It follows similar design principles to the P8, but there is little doubt it will be judged primarily on its size, and that probably won't bother Huawei either.The issue here is more one of differentiation than of specification.The more the brand can be seen to be separating itself from the competitors wrestling at the top end of the market, the more share it will gain further down the price ranks.As it is, the P8 can be expected to sell for less than half the price of the Samsung S6 Edge, and the P8 Max for little more than half. That is already a differentiator, and the design ethos expressed during the launch by Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, indicates that the company intends to compete on far more than price.Considering the recent launch by another Korean company, LG, of a new curved phone, the Flex 2, and the looming presence of Sony's Xperia 3, with its superior waterproof and camera technology, there is clearly still a great deal of differentiation to be had in the smartphone market.Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee..