The Chinese smartphone and network equipment manufacturer – Huawei is inching closer to Samsung in terms of smartphone market share. In Q1 2019, Huawei managed to rake 19.0% market share just after Samsung’s 23.1%. Apple remained at 3rd place with 11.7% market share witnessing -30.2% decline in YoY basis.
Overall smartphone shipments in Q1 2019 reduced to 310.8 million against 332.7 million units in Q1 2018. Amid the slump in global smartphone shipments, only a couple of manufacturers recorded growth – Huawei reported 50.3% growth, whereas Vivo summarised 24% growth on YoY basis. On the other hand, Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and OPPO shipped -8.1%, -30.2%, -10.2% and -6% fewer smartphones respectively in comparison with the Q1 2018.
Amid the excellent reception of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus, Samsung reported decent profits as it struggled in mid-range and low-end product portfolios. Samsung is now eying profits from the Galaxy S10 5G, Galaxy A80 and Galaxy Fold in Q2 2019. Apple’s share reduced from 15.7% to 11.7% due to shifting focus on services. The Cupertino giant’s cloudy 5G strategy is also impacting the market share, as competitors like Huawei and Samsung already announced their own 5G smartphones.
Continuous improvements and innovations led to Huawei’s ascent in the past few months. Huawei P30 and P30 Pro’s huge demand derived the growth in the high-end market. Whereas its domestic adaptability in China further scaled sales leading to 7.0 points increase in the previous quarter. In-house equipment is also leading to increased sales due to affordable and optimized devices.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that Huawei is laser focused on growing its stature in the world of mobile devices, with smartphones being its lead horse,” IDC program vice president Ryan Reith said in a statement. “The overall smartphone market continues to be challenged in almost all areas, yet Huawei was able to grow shipments by 50%, not only signifying a clear number two in terms of market share but also closing the gap on the market leader Samsung. This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei, and Apple is very likely what we’ll see when 2019 is all said and done.”
Another Chinese smartphone maker – Xiaomi profits also reduced by 0.4 points to 8.0% of the overall share. Meanwhile, Vivo improved by 1.9% in its home market and claiming 7.5% overall market share.
