Samsung in the first place with a market share of over 21%. Huawei ranks seventh.
Two years after the United States included Huawei on its blacklist for alleged links with Chinese intelligence, the Asian giant, which had come to lead mobile phone sales, has been losing steam until it was in this first quarter of 2021 outside of the five best-selling brands.
All this in a global context in which global mobile shipments have soared above 25%, with 346 million units, according to the distribution data of smartphones offered by several consultancies, including IDC and Canalys, which coincide in placing Samsung in the first place with a market share of more than 21%. Huawei ranks seventh.
The US sanctions, which were announced in mid-May 2019, ended up leaving their mark on Huawei’s mobile sales, especially after this veto resulted in a ban on Google to sell products to the Chinese brand. .
These products included not only the mobile applications from the Google store, but also the licenses for updates to the Android operating system, on which the mobile phones of the Chinese company were based, which, on the other hand, is promoting its own operating system, Harmony Os, in order to make it an alternative.
Sales decline accentuated by the sale of Honor
The decline in sales of the brand’s mobile phones outside of China was accentuated at the end of 2020, when Huawei decided to get rid of its Honor brand given the “tremendous pressure” to which its telephony business was subjected due to the “persistent lack of elements technicians ”, as announced then in a statement.
Honor meant for Huawei worldwide shipments of around 70 million units a year, according to the company itself. From Huawei Spain they have not estimated to make an assessment on the matter after being asked by EFE.
Globally, the decline in mobile sales has translated into a global revenue drop of 16.5% this first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2020, reaching 152.2 billion yuan (19.432 billion yuan). euros), according to data provided by the company, which is not listed on the stock exchange and has not disclosed its net profit.
Samsung and Apple retake leadership
With this situation and data from Canalys, Huawei lost the leadership in mobile shipments, in which Samsung has recovered number 1 on the list and Apple 2. In third, fourth and fifth place are three Chinese companies. After Huawei’s exit from the top positions, Samsung and Apple once again compete for the top two positions on the list.
Follow the news of El Espectador on Google NewsThus, Samsung registered 76.5 million shipments in the first quarter of 2021 (22%); Apple, 52.4 million (15%); Xiaomi, 49 million units (14%) and Oppo and Vivo, with 37.6 million units and 36 million, respectively, and a market share of 9%.
The rest of the brands have been left with 95.9 million, and 28% of world market share. Huawei is now in seventh place with 18.6 million units.
The disagreements between the US and Huawei took shape from May 15, 2019, when former President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to ban US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by companies allegedly trying to spy on the US. This measure eventually led to restrictions on the Chinese firm.
Huawei then warned that the decision to apply restrictions to its activity would only harm the interests of US companies and consumers.
The matter reached the courts and last February Huawei filed a lawsuit in an appeals court in New Orleans against the US government for the designation of a threat against national security to be withdrawn.
With Trump’s departure from the government, Huawei was waiting for the Joe Biden administration to be more open to policies that were “in the interests of American companies,” said Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei at the time. At the moment, there has been no change in this regard.
Huawei led global sales
Despite the context, Huawei led the distribution of smart phones in the world in the second quarter of 2020 above Samsung or Apple, with 55.8 million devices.
In this context, Huawei’s shipments had fallen by 27% outside of China, but its domestic market dominated, however, which grew by 8%. More than 70% of these sales occurred in China, according to Canalys.
Shortly after these data, Huawei got rid of Honor and today it is in the seventh ranking in distribution.
