Huawei unseats Samsung to become top global smartphone vendor in Q2

Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/30 15:11:17

Traders are returning to Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei area again after the coronavirus epidemic. The Huaqiangbei area is one of the world's largest electronics markets, with vendors selling cameras, Huawei 5G smartphones, drones and robotics. Photo: cnsphoto

 

Chinese tech giant Huawei in the second quarter unseated Samsung to become the top smartphone vendor globally for the first time, industry data showed on Thursday, despite a US-led suppression on the firm at the center of a China-US tech decoupling.

Huawei shipped 55.8 million smartphones across the world in the second quarter, down 5 percent year-on-year, while Samsung's global shipments plunged 30 percent year-on-year to 53.7 million units, according to figures from research firm Canalys. It marked the first quarter in nine years in which a handset maker other than Samsung or Apple took the throne. 

Huawei's overseas shipments were down 27 percent in the second quarter from the year before, an indication of the impact of intensifying US restrictions on its businesses outside China.

But the firm consolidated its dominance in the domestic market, with an 8 percent increase in its Chinese shipments. Over 70 percent of its phones are sold in the Chinese mainland market, per Canalys statistics. 

"This is a remarkable result that few people would have predicted a year ago," read a statement on Canalys' website, citing its senior analyst Ben Stanton.

"If it wasn't for COVID-19, it wouldn't have happened," the analyst reckoned. "Huawei has taken full advantage of the Chinese economic recovery to reignite its smartphone business." 

But the research firm said that strength in home territory alone won't be enough to sustain the crown once the global economy begins to reboot.

While Huawei has encountered setbacks in its overseas business due to US suppression and the UK's reversal of its decision to allow the company limited access to its 5G network construction, there is still some good news.

US mobile phone chipmaker Qualcomm announced on Wednesday that it reached a licensing deal with Huawei to settle a patent dispute. Huawei has been re-granted rights to some of Qualcomm's patents effective from the beginning of the year, according to the agreement.

Buoyed by the announcement despite heightened China-US tensions, Qualcomm's shares spiked toward a record high in aftermarket trading on Wednesday. 

Global Times



Posted in: COMPANIES

blog comments powered by Disqus