New Delhi: Chinese handset maker Huawei has overtaken Apple to become the second leading global smartphone vendor in the second quarter (Q2) of 2018, in terms of smartphone shipments, according to the latest market report by Counterpoint Research. Huawei shipped 54.2 million smartphones between April and June, capturing 15% of the market in the process. Apple slipped to the third spot for the first time in seven years and now controls 11% market share with 41.3 million shipments. Apple’s shipments remained flat in China year on year and also had a slow quarter in India where its domestic production is yet to gather momentum.
Samsung remains the undisputed leader with a market share of 20%. It shipped a record 71.6 million smartphones during June quarter. However, the South Korean company shipped fewer devices compared to Q1 2018, when it shipped 78 million smartphones.
The report attributes Huawei’s success to its Honor sub-brand and the emphasis on strengthening offline presence. “Huawei with its Honor brand is offering a broad and recently refreshed portfolio at affordable prices that is driving growth in the overseas market. Honor, which is already strong in the e-commerce segment, is now adopting a multi-channel strategy through branded stores in the South East Asia market,” said Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research.
Likewise, another research firm Canalys, in its latest market report on smartphones for Q2 2018 published on 31 July, also ranked Hauwei at number two with 54 million shipments, ahead of Apple which shipped 41 million smartphones during the same quarter.
Global smartphone shipments declined by 2% annually in Q2 2018, as users in markets such as China, the US and western Europe are upgrading to newer phones less frequently. To negate the slow demand at home, Chinese phonemakers are putting more focus on markets such as India, South East Asia, eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa where there is still room for expansion.
Globally, the top 10 vendors control 79% of the market share, while more than 600 brands are competing for space in the remaining 24%. In terms of year-on-year growth, HMD Global’s Nokia (782%), Tecno (59%), Xiaomi (43%) and Huawei (41%) were the fastest growing vendors, while brands such as Lenovo, Gionee, Micromax and Sony registered highest drop in shipments during the June quarter, according to Counterpoint.
The top 10 vendors list includes six Chinese companies: Huawei, Vivo (7%), Oppo (8%), Xiaomi (9%), Lenovo (3%) and Tecno (1%). They account for 42% of market share controlled by the top10.
Meanwhile, in another report by Counterpoint Research on the premium smartphone segment (Rs 30,000 and higher) in India, OnePlus has surpassed Samsung and Apple to emerge as the fastest growing vendor. The Chinese company, which recently launched OnePlus 6, registered year-on-year growth of 446%, while Apple’s year-on-year shipments declined by 25% while Apple’s fell by 14%.
