In addition to making a huge return in China, Huawei is about to pass Apple as the market leader for smartphones globally.
According to Counterpoint Research, the Shenzhen-based conglomerate—which has been a focal point in the growing conflict between Washington and Beijing—saw a 70% year-over-year increase in smartphone sales in China during the first quarter, while Apple’s sales fell by more than 19%.
“Apple’s sales were subdued during the quarter as  Huawei’s comeback has directly impacted Apple in the premium segment,” said Ivan Lam, senior research analyst at Counterpoint.
According to Counterpoint, the iPhone manufacturer, which dominated China’s smartphone market in the first quarter of 2023 with a share of about 20%, has dropped to third place in the first three months of this year. Its current market share is 15.7%, but Huawei’s has increased from 9.3% to 15.5% during the last year.
The US government’s request for further information regarding Huawei’s highly sought-after Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which had a powerful CPU, garnered headlines last year. Industry insiders were taken aback by its launch, as they wondered how the business managed to obtain such a chip in the wake of US efforts to limit China’s access to foreign semiconductor technology due to national security concerns.
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The report from Counterpoint was released a few days after IDC, a different market research group, said that Apple’s smartphone sales fell 10% globally in the first quarter, mostly as a result of a slowdown in China.
China is Apple’s second-largest market after the US, but the corporation is having difficulties in the second-biggest economy in the world. Chinese shoppers are increasingly favoring Chinese companies instead of Apple, where they previously would have looked.
Counterpoint reports that overall smartphone sales in China increased by 1.5% during the first quarter. According to market share, local smartphone manufacturers Honor and Vivo were the top two brands.
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