Canalys: Huawei expands its domination in China

After yesterday’s analysis of the Indian market during Q2, today Canalys revealed its data about China, the biggest smartphone market today. While the market has been in the red for ninth consecutive quarter, Huawei has managed to increase its share up to 38.2%, which is an annual growth of 31% in terms of sales.

The Top 5 is completed by Oppo, vivo, Xiaomi, and Apple, the only non-Chinese manufacturer.

The Canalys Analyst Mo Jia said that Huawei’s global mix shifted back towards China, with 64% of its total shipments in Q2 accounting for the domestic scene, which is the highest ratio in the last six years. The uncertainty following the trade war between the United States and China made Huawei step on it in order to keep sales going.

Interestingly enough, Huawei’s retail partners are playing on the patriotic note and portraying the brand as the proper national choice in spite of the Americans and the Western world in general. The company is also investing a lot in marketing to support new offline channels in which it is luring customers of Oppo and vivo.

Mo Jia added that Huawei also has the edge in 5G since it is one of few companies that can actually offer a device supporting gigabit speeds in China.

The overall market saw a 6% on a yearly basis, making it a ninth consecutive quarter in decline. Canalys suggested the reason is consumers are taking longer to upgrade their devices. Customers are also waiting for the 5G game to play out before deciding whether it is worth it to upgrade to a smartphone.

The commercial launch of the next-gen connectivity is expected to happen in the second half of 2019 and expand in 2020, and that’s when the market is expected to see a huge wave of users upgrading their phones if the manufacturers manage to keep “prices appropriate to mass market”.

Source | Via