The advent of the coronavirus pandemic affected the smartphone market globally. Generally, there is a decline in the performance of smartphone sales worldwide. According to IDC global quarterly tracking, the global smartphone market shipments fell 16.0% year on year in Q2 2020. The total smartphone sales worldwide from all brands hit 278.4 million units in the second quarter.
The report shows that regionally, the Chinese market did slightly better, with a decrease of 10.3%. The Asia-Pacific (excluding China and Japan), Western Europe, and the United States saw declines of 31.9%, 14.8%, and 12.6%, respectively.
According to the IDC report, Huawei tops the global smartphone market for Q2 2020. The Chinese manufacturer shipped 55.8 million units in the second quarter, down 5.1% year-on-year. Its close rival, Samsung, shipped 54.2 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 28.9%, and its market share hit 19.5%. Apple is in the third position with a shipment of 37.6 million units, an increase of 11.2% year-on-year. Also, its market share is 13.5%.
Another Chinese manufacturer, Xiaomi, is fourth with a market share of 10.2%. The company’s shipment exceeds 28 million units. Thanks to the good performance of about 60% of shipments in the Chinese market. Oppo, a Chinese manufacturer is also fifth with 24 million unit shipments. Its market share is 8.6%, ranking fifth. The report pointed out that OPPO’s highly competitive A series once again became the driving force for sales. In addition, the Oppo Reno 4 series performance is far beyond expectations.
It’s interesting to see that despite the issues surrounding Huawei, it is still controlling the global smartphone market. Back in April, Huawei toppled Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone brand, a position it retained in May. Having topped the global smartphone market for two consecutive months in Q2 2020, it is not a surprise that the company tops the chart in the entire quarter.
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RECENT REPORTS ON HUAWEI
Most recently, Huawei has been in the news for multiple reasons. Firstly, the U.K banned the Chinese company from its 5G network despite the fact that it will need up to £1 billion to completely eliminate Huawei from its network. Subsequently, the Chinese tech giant responded by saying the U.K is only bowing to the needs of the US and it is not about security issues. Furthermore, there were also reports that the U.S. is threatening to impose a visa restriction on Huawei employes. In this regard, Huawei’s disappointment is high. It claims that its employees work towards the development of technology globally. They do not deserve to experience such restrictions.
Despite all these, the company is doing well in all ramifications. Its businesses are thriving whether it is the smartphone, 5G, or its internet business. Most recently, it toppled Samsung to become the world’s largest 5G smartphone company in terms of shipment. According to South Korean SK securities estimate, Huawei’s 55 million shipments are ahead of Samsung’s 51 million units. This record is for the second quarter of 2020 (April – June). This is coming after it displaced Samsung as the top smartphone company globally for April and May 2020. Interestingly, there are still some major economies that are not banning Huawei despite the pressure from the U.S.
Furthermore, the tech giant has decided to fight back the U.S. and gained what it has lost from American companies. The Chinese manufacturer has a huge patent bank and no doubt, it must have cases against American companies if it looks closely. Now, American companies like HP, Verizon, and Cisco will be the first to meet Huawei in court. Most likely, these will not be the last American tech companies to battle it out with the Chinese manufacturer in court.
