For the first time, Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has shipped more smartphones than Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) or Samsung, according to a report released by research firm Canalys. Huawei shipped 55.8 million devices in the second quarter, and while that marked a decrease of more than 5% year-over-year, it was a better performance than any of its archrivals.
Canalys noted that this was the first quarter in nine years that a company other than Apple or Samsung led the market.
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The pandemic has altered the status quo, and the unusual set of circumstances led to Huawei’s current reign. “China has emerged stronger from the coronavirus pandemic, with the reopening of factories, continued economic development and tight controls on new outbreaks,” Canalys said in the report. He also said that the company “has made the most of China’s economic recovery to revive its smartphone business.”
To give the current context of results, Apple shipped 78 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of 2019, up 21% year-over-year. Samsung ranked second, shipping 71 million smartphones, up 19%, while Huawei came in third with 56 million smartphones, up 15%.
However, in the first quarter, with the start of the pandemic, there was a tectonic shift in the market as global smartphone shipments decreased by 13%. Samsung was the market leader, but its shipments fell 17%. At the same time, Huawei was the only company that managed to generate growth, increasing shipments by 9%, even when iPhone shipments were reduced by 8%.
It is important to note that Huawei is not expected to retain the title for long, particularly once global demand for smartphones recovers. US regulators banned Huawei from using Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google software, which makes phones less attractive to many buyers.
