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2018 was an awesome year for Chinese smartphone brands going overseas
But will 2019 be as kind to Huawei and Xiaomi?
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
It wasn’t that long ago that Chinese smartphone makers rarely ventured outside their home market. And why not? Huawei and Xiaomi managed to become some of the biggest smartphone makers in the world without the reach of Apple or Samsung.
But things are different now. People bought fewer smartphones in the last year across the world. But while global shipments declined around 4%, the drop in China was far steeper at over 10%, according to a new report from research firm IDC.
So it comes as no surprise that top Chinese phone makers are branching out beyond home -- and some are seeing extraordinary growth. According to IDC, both Xiaomi and Huawei shipped around a third more smartphones globally compared to 2017. In contrast, Samsung and Apple shipped fewer units than before.
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Huawei is faring well in China, but research firm Canalys says the “real growth engine is overseas”. As IDC notes, about half of Huawei’s smartphone buyers right now are from abroad -- up from around 40% in 2017. Xiaomi, which started expanding into western Europe in late 2017, is also gaining users in places like Spain.
How Xiaomi forged a unique path
And while Huawei still sold fewer smartphones than Apple globally, it looks like their iPhone contenders are doing increasingly well.
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