Huawei is the new tech giant challenging Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi among others
Huawei's year has been so good so far, especially in the Chinese and European markets. Recent figures show that Huawei is China's new leading smartphone-maker on top of being the second largest Android brand in Europe's big five markets.
Things changed for Huawei after the company decided to hold back on low-end smartphones and focus instead on high-end mobile units. In Q3 2015, the company beat Xiaomi as the top smartphone vendor in China. Thanks to the 81 percent year-on-year shipment growth and strong performance in the previous quarter, Huawei is now a top tech contender.
"Huawei’s ascent to China’s smartphone throne is a remarkable feat, especially in the context of an increasingly cutthroat and maturing Chinese smartphone market," explained Jessie Ding, a Research Analyst based in Canalys’ Shanghai office.
Not only that, it was recently named the second largest Android brand in Europe's big five markets: Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
"Thanks to an increase in marketing focus and the weakening of brands such as Sony, HTC, and Motorola, Huawei was able to rise to second place among Android brands in Europe from sixth place in 2014," said Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. She also added that the Huawei’s wider range of product portfolio, low-end to high end, the company was able to penetrate markets like Spain and Italy.
"With a wider portfolio of products ranging from the high-end all the way to the low-end, Huawei made particular inroads in Spain and Italy," she added.
Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe, added that iOS posted the strongest share for September quarter since the market was monitored.
"In the Android camp, Korean manufacturers Samsung and LG were the only brands growing share during the quarter. Samsung now represents 53 percent of all Great Britain Android sales compared to 50 percent for the same time a year ago, while LG grew from 6 percent to 9 percent. These gains, however, were not enough to compensate for other Android-based manufacturers losses, leaving the OS to record yet another year-on-year decline," he explained further.
According to The Motley Fool, Huawei's ascent is not yet a threat to Apple but a bad omen for the likes of Samsung. Even with Huawei's increased shipments in China, Apple reported an 87 percent increase in the sales of iPhone in the region. As for other markets like the United States, Huawei's chance of beating Apple lies in its partnership with Google. However, the Nexus line has yet to be a game changer.
As for Samsung, Huawei's recent decisions can be a threat. Samsung has started focusing on its lower-range units for developing markets while the Galaxy line remained in the high-end markets. China's smartphone market is maturing. Customers previously went to Apple's clone, Xiaomi Mi, before majority of the market started switching to Huawei. As Xiaomi and Huawei compete and grow, Samsung is at much risk to lose in China considering its market has started becoming crowded.
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