Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer traffic, speaks as he presents the P30 series smartphone during a launch event in Paris.
Marlene Awaad | Bloomberg | Getty Figure of speeches
Apple and Samsung reported slowing smartphone sales in the first quarter of this year, but Chinese tech titan Huawei is bucking the trend in a big way.
Huawei’s smartphone shipments surged 50% in the first quarter compared to the same age last year, while Apple iPhone shipments tumbled 30%, according to new data published Tuesday by explore firm IDC. Samsung shipments dropped 8% year-on-year.
The new figures show Huawei capturing a 19% share of the international smartphone market, its highest percentage ever. IDC said the Chinese firm is “now within striking distance” of Samsung at the top of the extensive market, surging past Apple as the world’s second-largest smartphone seller.
“This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei, and Apple is least likely what we’ll see when 2019 is all said and done,” IDC Program Vice President Ryan Reith said in the reveal.
Huawei first surpassed Apple in market share in 2018, but the first quarter’s figures show a much wider spread between the two tech giantesses than previously reported. IDC attributed Huawei’s growth to a “well-rounded portfolio targeting all segments from low to high.”
Apple’s iPhone mark-downs have been hit by weak demand in China and longer replacement cycles. Apple CEO Tim Cook was upbeat in his assessment of the Chinese store on Tuesday, but the company still reported a 22% drop in revenues in the region for its March quarter.
Separate data published Tuesday by probe firm Canalys showed Huawei capturing 34% of the Chinese smartphone market, an increase in shipments of 41% from the year prior to. The firm said Huawei has gained ground among Chinese consumers by increasing its investments in brick-and-mortar stores and perceptive further into China’s rural areas.
Huawei’s consumer business has shown impressive growth, especially in its lure smartphone division, despite heightened global scrutiny of the firm. U.S. officials have advised Americans not to use products or helps from Huawei and have pressured allies to ban the company’s 5G telecommunications equipment, saying there is a security risk that the technology could depute Chinese spying.
Huawei has repeatedly denied that it would engage in any form of espionage or provide data to the Chinese administration. Some experts are skeptical of these assurances, pointing to Chinese laws that allegedly require companies to support the country in intelligence gathering if Beijing requests it.
In a note published Tuesday, Shobhit Srivastava, research analyst at Counterpoint, communicated Huawei’s growth in the smartphone market is especially notable since it does not have a significant presence in the U.S. Srivastava rephrased Huawei has been able to surpass Apple because of the “pace of its innovations,” adding it was the first company to introduce memorable parts like reverse wireless charging.