Huawei Overtakes Apple In Smartphone Sales For The First Time

The quarterly ranking of the smartphone makers in the world is out and gives us a glimpse of how each company performed in the last quarter.

And, remarkably, this overtaking manoeuvre has taken place despite the global smartphone market falling 1.8 per cent in shipments overall. Smartphone Company Highlights ● Samsung once again remained the leader in the worldwide smartphone market despite a 10.4% decline in shipments from past year.

To overcome Apple, Huawei banked heavily on it budget line of devices, with the maximum sales being driven by its sub-brand Honor.

The company had a market share of 20 per cent in the UAE, while in Saudi Arabia it is at 27 per cent. Oman is at 30 per cent, Iraq is at 25 per cent, Egypt is at 24 per cent and Pakistan is at 22.2 per cent. It even has plans to set up 10 offline stores and four experience stores by the end of this fiscal year.

“Samsung remained the top vendor in Q2, but felt the impact of Huawei and others, slipping 8% to 73 million shipments”.

While Apple reported strong results for its fiscal third quarter on Tuesday, the iPhone-maker narrowly missed Wall Street’s estimate of 41.79 million devices shipped for the quarter, shipping 41.3 million units instead.

While the rate of decline has eased, the Chinese market is expected to weaken in the following quarters, Canalys said.

Outside of China, Huawei’s increasing brand recognition newly allowing it to compete at the top end, but the Chinese market remains key for Huawei as it has come under fire from the US, Australia and other nations over concerns it could facilitate Chinese government spying. “Huawei’s exclusion from the us has forced it to work harder in Asia and Europe to achieve its goals”. These analysts suggest that OnePlus was the fastest growing brand in the premium segment in India this quarter compared to past year, ramping up 446%.

For fast-growing Huawei, the quarter sales marked a 40 percent year-over-year gain. While Apple sold six iPhone models in the second quarter of 2017, this year the company sold nine models. Many companies have tried to rise above the likes of Apple and Samsung only to drop off the map later.

“The Asia-Pacific region posted the biggest growth in the second quarter, rising 107 per cent year over year, while Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) recorded more than 60 percent growth”, Schneemann says.

Pathak notes Huawei with its Honor brand is offering a broad and refreshed portfolio at affordable price which is driving growth in the overseas market.