Huawei’s market share surges despite smartphone shipment slump
Despite a ‘deeper’ decline – for the sixth consecutive quarter – in smartphone shipment volumes during the first quarter of 2019, Chinese brand Huawei has accelerated its sales, surpassing Apple as the number two in terms of market share worldwide.
Market intelligence and advisory services firm International Data Corporation’s (IDC’s) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows smartphone vendors shipped a total of 310.8-million units during the first quarter, a decrease of 6.6% year-on-year.
This marked the sixth consecutive quarter of decline – and is double the 3.5% contraction reported in the first quarter of 2018.
In 2018, smartphone shipments dropped 4.1% over 2017, and there are clear indications that worldwide smartphone shipments will remain on a downward slide in 2019.
“The only highlight from a vendor perspective was Huawei, which made a strong statement by growing volume and share, despite market headwinds,” IDC notes.
Huawei expanded its shipments by 50.3% to 59.1-million units and, with a 19% market share, claimed the number two spot and is closing the gap on market leader Samsung.
Huawei is now within striking distance of Samsung’s 23.1% at the top of the global market.
“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,” says IDC Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers programme VP Ryan Reith.
“This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei and Apple is very likely what we will see when 2019 is all said and done,” he says.
Samsung’s shipment volumes during the first quarter decreased 8.1% to 71.9-million units.
Apple faced a challenging first quarter, with shipments plunging 30.2% year-on-year to 36.4-million units.
“The iPhone struggled to win over consumers in most major markets as competitors continue to eat away at Apple’s market share, which contracted from 15.7% last year to 11.7% in the quarter under review,” Reith points out.
However, while Apple iPhone challenges contributed to an exceptionally poor first quarter in the US, other top vendors also witnessed declining volumes during the quarter.
Xiaomi’s first-quarter shipments declined 10.2% to 25-million units, while other vendors not in the top five ranking recorded a 21.5% decline to an aggregate 72.1-million units, making up a collective 23.2% of the market.
Tying with Oppo for the number five position with a market share of 7.5% is Vivo – the only other vendor in the top five to experience growth.
Vivo returned to the top five of the smartphone market with volumes of 23.2-million units, up 24% year-on-year. Oppo achieved shipment volumes of 23.1-million.
While the Chinese market will likely be challenged for the remainder of 2019, it was the US market that felt the worst of the downturn in the first quarter of the year, says IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker research manager Anthony Scarsella.
“The less-than-stellar first quarter in the US can be attributed to the continued slowdown we are witnessing at the high end of the market,” he says
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