Despite worldwide criticism and bans in few countries didn’t able to stop Huawei from becoming World’s no. 1 smartphone maker by topping Samsung. It marks the first quarter in nine years that a company other than Samsung or Apple has led the market.
According to a new report from market analysis firm, Canalys said that Huawei has shipped more smartphones in the second quarter of 2020 than any other company. Huawei shipped 55.8 million devices in the second quarter, Canalys said, down 5% year-over-year, while Samsung shipped 53.7 million, 30% less than the prior year due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The achievement was largely due to Huawei’s domination of the Chinese market, where 70% of its smartphones are sold. Huawei’s China sales rose 8% in the second quarter, though its overseas shipments dropped 27%.
“If it wasn’t for COVID-19, it wouldn’t have happened. Huawei has taken full advantage of the Chinese economic recovery to reignite its smartphone business. Samsung has a very small presence in China, with less than 1% market share, and has seen its core markets, such as Brazil, India, the United States, and Europe, ravaged by outbreaks and subsequent lockdowns,” says Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Stanton.
“Taking first place is very important for Huawei,” Jia said in a statement. “It is desperate to showcase its brand strength to domestic consumers, component suppliers, and developers.” But due to government blacklists and general wariness of the Huawei brand in the West, “strength in China alone will not be enough to sustain Huawei at the top once the global economy starts to recover.”
Source: Canalys
