Huawei passes Apple for number two spot – Counterpoint

Huawei has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the past four or five years, overtaking a variety of smartphone manufacturers. Now, the latest numbers from Counterpoint Research show that the firm has passed Apple to be the number two smartphone manufacturer.

“According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse for July 2017, Huawei has surpassed Apple in global smartphone sales consistently for June and July. With August sales looking strong for the Chinese vendor, a hat-trick for Huawei could be on the cards,” the research firm wrote in a statement.

The stats are extremely noteworthy, illustrating the Chinese firm’s rapid rise. But it’s also important to note that the period from June to August is traditionally the calm before the new iPhone storm in September/October.

“While this streak could be temporary considering the annual iPhone refresh is just around the corner, it nevertheless underscores the rate at which Huawei has been growing,” Counterpoint Research’s Peter Richardson was quoted as saying. “However, a weak presence in the South Asian, Indian and North American markets limits Huawei’s potential in the near-to mid-term to take a sustainable second place position behind Samsung.”

Huawei has moved ahead of Apple to take the number two spot for global shipments – for now

Oddly enough, Checkpoint’s research shows that none of Huawei’s devices made it into the top ten for July.

“Apple continued to drive its flagship momentum with iPhone 7 and 7 Plus; still the world’s best-selling models. Oppo has been one of the fastest growing brands globally thanks to the popularity of models including the flagship Oppo R11 and the mid-tier Oppo A57 that captured third and fourth spots respectively,” Checkpoint analyst Pavel Naiya elaborated.

“These were followed by Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X and Samsung Galaxy S8+. Apple’s 32GB refresh of the venerable iPhone 6 enabled it to regain momentum during the month, with popularity across prepaid markets to edge out Samsung’s Galaxy J7.”