Huawei Beats Apple And Samsung During COVID-19 Period Remain Top Brand

Huawei has at least for a short time achieved its goal set years ago to become the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. According to market researchers, the Chinese company was ahead of Samsung and Apple in April 2020 – thanks to the novel coronavirus.

Because the novel coronavirus caused a massive drop in sales by manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple in many countries in Europe and other regions, Huawei was, according to the market research company Counterpoint Research, at least temporarily the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer.

According to Counterpoint, Huawei benefited greatly in terms of smartphone market share from the “lockdown” of public life that had taken place in many places, as a result of which many retail stores had to be closed and online trade was also severely restricted in some cases. At the same time, sales in China rose again as the country “opened up” so that Huawei was able to sell more devices in its home country.

Huawei Gains Top Market Share Position

According to Counterpoint, Huawei’s global market share for smartphones was around 19 percent in April, while Samsung “only” managed 17 percent. Huawei was also able to briefly replace its competitor Apple in April, at least temporarily topping the list of the world’s largest smartphone suppliers by market share. The company’s own forecasts suggest that Huawei’s provisional market leadership could only be of short duration. Because the United States has recently tightened its sanctions against the Chinese company and Huawei is experiencing massive difficulties in selling its smartphones, the company itself expects sales to decline by up to 20 percent.

There are already clear signs of Huawei’s decline in Europe because sales in Germany have plummeted by almost 40 percent year-on-year. With the opening of shops and online trading in many countries in Europe and Asia, the special situation in the smartphone market triggered by the novel coronavirus is likely to normalize again to the disadvantage of Huawei, so that Samsung and Apple are likely to occupy the top positions again soon.