Huawei the world’s largest smartphone player for the first time

Huawei the world’s largest smartphone player for the first time

Shanghai, 30.7.2020

Huawei became the world’s largest smartphone player for the first time in the second quarter, according to a new report by Canalys. The majority of sales came from China, as the international business is suffering from the US sanctions.

According to the research company, the Chinese supplier delivered 55.8 million devices, a decrease of 5% compared to last year. In second place, Samsung delivered 53.7 million smartphones, a decrease of 30% compared to the same period last year.

It is the first time Huawei Quartal has taken first place, a goal that has been pursued for years. However, analysts doubted that this is sustainable, as Huawei’s overseas markets outside China have suffered a blow due to U.S. sanctions against the company.

Huawei sold over 70% of its smartphones in mainland China in the second quarter. In the months of April to June, smartphone shipments in international markets decreased by 27% year-on-year. In Europe, a key region for Huawei, the company’s smartphone market share declined to 16% in the second quarter from 22% in the same period in 2019, according to Counterpoint Research. It is the third largest smartphone manufacturer in Europe after Samsung and Apple, and shows how Huawei’s global position in the second quarter was built on efforts to increase its share in China, the world’s second largest economy.

„It will be difficult for Huawei to maintain its lead in the long term,“ said Mo Jia, analyst at Canalys, in a press release. „Key distributors in key regions such as Europe are increasingly concerned about bringing Huawei equipment within reach, adopting fewer models and introducing new brands to reduce risk“. He added: „The strength in China alone will not be enough to keep Huawei at the top once the global economy recovers,“ he said.

Last year, Huawei was placed on the US Entity List, a blacklist that restricted access to US technology. That meant Huawei could not use a licensed Google Android on its latest flagship devices.