Advertisement

Global smartphone battle: Five things you need to know

Huawei and Vivo are on a roll while Apple struggles

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Huawei’s Mate X foldable 5G phone as seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 25. (Picture: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg)
This article originally appeared on ABACUS

One man’s loss is another man’s gain. This adage seems truer than ever in the smartphone wars.

Marketing intelligence firms IDC and Counterpoint just released their global smartphone shipment figures for the last quarter. While it looks like fewer people are buying new handsets overall, with total shipments down 5% to 7%, there are still a few big winners who managed to buck the trend.

Huawei is moving a lot of phones

Huawei’s Mate X foldable 5G phone as seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 25. (Picture: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg)
Huawei’s Mate X foldable 5G phone as seen during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 25. (Picture: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg)

The Chinese telecom equipment giant finally leapfrogged Apple to the second spot in worldwide shipments last quarter. While the iPhone’s popularity may have peaked in China, Huawei shipped 50% more handsets than a year ago.

Unlike Apple, which only sells expensive iPhones, Huawei has the benefit of a diverse lineup that includes both high-end and cheaper devices. Not everyone is able to afford a Huawei flagship like the P30 Pro, but they can still buy an Honor View 20, which costs nearly half the price.
This strategy mirrors that of Samsung, which now has a smaller lead than ever over Huawei, owning 23% of the market versus Huawei’s 19%.
Advertisement