Huawei declares ambition to be No.1 after dethroning Apple

       

Huawei Technologies Co., which just edged past Apple Inc. to become the world’s second-largest smartphone maker, wants to be top of the heap before the end of 2019.

The Chinese giant shipped more than 95 million phones in the first six months, up about 30 percent from a year earlier. Consumer division chief Richard Yu on Friday said he wants Huawei to be No. 1 in smartphones by the fourth quarter of next year, with a market share of more than 20 percent -- despite acknowledging its virtual absence in a pivotal U.S. market.

Huawei this year overcame a global slump by grabbing sales from Apple and current leader Samsung Electronics Co. The fast-growing consumer division has helped Huawei, the leader in global telecommunications equipment, get past lackluster demand from carriers globally. Despite barely making a dent in the U.S., it’s managed to build a strong presence in $600-plus phones in markets from Europe to Africa, which in turn allowed it to break Apple’s and Samsung’s years-long stranglehold on the global market.

China’s Huawei on Friday said it could replace Samsung as the world’s top smartphone maker by late next year, just days after data showed it surpassed Apple for the number-two spot despite being essentially barred from the key US market. The chief of Huawei’s consumer division, Richard Yu, made the remark at the release of business results for the first half of 2018, during which unlisted Huawei said it shipped more than 95 million smartphones, an increase of about 30 percent. “It’s no question that we become the number two next year. In Q4 next year it’s possible we become number one,” Yu said in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city where Huawei is based. He added that “the past six months have been incredible”. Huawei took second place from Apple in a tightening global smartphone market during the second quarter, according to figures released Tuesday by tech-industry trackers International Data Corporation (IDC). South Korean titan Samsung remained on top in April-June, shipping 71.5 million handsets for a 20.9 percent market share, IDC said. But Huawei sold 54.2 million phones for a 15.8 percent market share, followed by Apple’s 41.3 million iPhones that gave it 12.1 percent of the market. It was the first time since early 2010 that Apple was not in the top two.

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