Huawei plummets as Apple becomes world’s No 1 smartphone seller on China boost
- Consumers, including many in China, snapped up iPhones in droves in the holiday quarter of 2020
- Huawei ceded market share to Apple and others as it struggled to deliver premium handsets under US sanctions
Huawei Technologies Co tumbled down the rankings of global smartphone sellers in the last quarter as it struggled under US sanctions, while Apple shot to the top on the back of strong demand for its latest iPhones.
Smartphone manufacturers around the world shipped roughly 4 per cent more units year on year in the fourth quarter of 2020, reaching almost 386 million units, according to research firm IDC. Huawei, which came second in the previous quarter, sank to the fifth place with around 32 million handsets shipped.
Analysts at Canalys placed Huawei’s ranking even lower at the sixth place, marking the first time in six years that the Chinese giant has fallen outside the top five.
More than half of those shipments went to China, where Huawei retained the top spot but saw its market share drop 22 per cent from 41 per cent in the third quarter, Canalys figures showed. Those shipments included handsets made by Honor, the sub-brand that Huawei sold in November.
“It is possibly Huawei’s toughest time as it is restrained to even serve its home market,” said Canalys vice-president of mobility Nicole Peng in a report.
