Huawei Beats Apple to become World’s No 2 Smartphone Seller

Huawei Technologies Co. beats Apple to become World’s No 2 smartphone seller for the first time. Huawei is ahead of Apple in the smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2018. Just behind Samsung Electronics Co. China’s Huawei has strengthened its position in the global market.

According to the market research firm, IDC Huawei shipped 54.2 million phones in the second quarter. The shipments were 41 percent more than last year’s shipment during the same period. On the other hand, Apple shipped almost 41.3 million iPhones witnessing only 0.7 percent growth compared to last year’s shipment during the same period.  This has allowed Huawei to get ahead of iPhone for the first time.

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Huawei controlled 16 percent of the smartphone market while Samsung accounted for 21% and Apple for 12%. Other Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi Corp. and Oppo were behind Apple gaining 4th and 5th spot respectively.

Ben Stanton, a senior analyst at Canalys said,  “The importance of Huawei overtaking Apple this quarter cannot be overstated. It is the first time in seven years that Samsung and Apple have not held the top two positions. Huawei’s exclusion from the U.S. has forced it to work harder in Asia and Europe to achieve its goals.”

Mo Jia, a Shanghai-based analyst at Canalys said, “Despite its failure to strike a U.S. carrier partnership earlier this year, (Huawei) has turned around quickly, moving away from its drive for profitability and focusing instead on finding volume growth at the low end. Honor, which has long been a major brand in China but relatively small overseas, has taken a pivotal role in this strategy.”

It seems that Chinese smartphone makers are gaining popularity not just in the local market but also globally. Huawei has become quite popular in European, African, and Asian markets.