The smartphone market share report from research firm Canalys indicates that Huawei has done well in China in Q2 2019 though the overall market demand dropped.
Huawei today said it has generated 220.8 billion yuan revenue from its consumer business globally – mainly driven by smartphones – during the first half of 2019.
Huawei achieved the highest smartphone market share in China for any vendor in eight years, Canalys said before the official earnings report from Huawei.
Huawei’s smartphone shipment grew 31 percent as it shipped 37.3 million units in the second quarter of 2018.
Incidentally, China smartphone market dipped 6 percent — dropping for the ninth consecutive quarter, to 97.6 million units.
This means Huawei has received the strong support of smartphone buyers in China, its home market. Huawei’s global mix shifted back toward China, with 64 percent of its smartphone shipments in Q2 2019 in its home market. This is the highest ratio since Q2 2013, Canalys said.
Huawei’s major competitors in China: Oppo down 18 percent after shipping 17.9 million units, Vivo down 19 percent with 17.1 million units, Xiaomi down 20 percent with 11.5 million units, and Apple down 14 percent with 5.7 million units.
“Huawei’s addition to the United States Entity List caused uncertainty overseas, but in China it has kept its foot on the accelerator,” said Canalys Analyst Mo Jia.
Huawei’s retail partners are rolling out advertisements to link Huawei with being the patriotic choice, to appeal to Chinese consumers willing to take political factors into account when making a purchase decision.
Huawei’s internal chipset and modem technologies will give it an edge over its competitors as 5G is commercialized by Chinese operators, Canalys said.
China consumers are keeping smartphones for longer and upgrading less frequently due to the impending launch of 5G networks and devices. Chinese telecom operators are going to launch 5G services in the second half of 2019.
