2019 is about to come to an end, and the list of top ten biggest smartphone manufacturers has seen some changes in the year gone by. However, one thing that remained unchanged is the rivalry between Samsung and Huawei.
In 2015, Huawei shipped over 104 million units worldwide taking the number three position on the list with a 5.5 percent market share. In 2016, Huawei announced its goal to dethrone Samsung as the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer by 2021.
The Chinese smartphone maker’s year-on-year growth set it on the right track to becoming number one. However, the company’s growth plans took a significant beating when Google revoked its license midway through 2019. Huawei smartphones lost access to Google’s mobile services at a time when the year was shaping up to be one of the biggest for smartphones.
While the company continued its impressive run as far as sales numbers in China are concerned, it witnessed a significant decline in units shipped in global markets. However, the latest report from Strategy Analytics claims that Huawei is on course to dethroning Samsung in 2021. The Korean Herald estimates that Huawei will end 2019 with 251 million smartphones sold and 17.7 percent market share.
Samsung, on the other hand, is expected to finish the year with an estimated 21.3 percent market share, approximately selling 323 million units. The figures from Strategic Analytics show Huawei has grown in the last year despite its software woes. By comparison, Huawei finished 2018 with 5.6 percent less market share than Samsung, which means the Chinese smartphone maker is closing the gap.
Huawei has also claimed that the hindrance from the US Government has significantly affected its performance in western markets. However, there’s a good chance that Huawei will get access to Google mobile services in the near future, removing the company’s biggest obstacle in the race to become the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world.
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