Huawei will disappear from smartphone market in 2021 – research group

ICT research group Omdia has predicted that technology company Huawei will disappear from the global smartphone market in 2021.

The prediction comes as a result of the continued US ban facing Huawei. The ban prevents access to Google Mobile Services on Huawei’s devices and source to certain components from US companies.

Gerrit Schneemann, principal analyst at Omdia, made the prediction as the research group released its latest data on smartphone shipments for the first quarter of 2021.

The data showed overall growth in the global smartphone market, with a 28.1% year-on-year increase in shipments in Q1 2021.

Meanwhile, the top five smartphone brands listed in the data all showed significant year-on-year growth in shipments.

The top five brands in the first quarter of 2021 were Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo.

Huawei data shows sharp decrease in smartphone shipments

However, smartphone shipments decreased drastically for Huawei both when comparing Q1 2021 to the previous quarter and to Q1 2020.

When comparing quarter-on-quarter shipments, Huawei saw a 55.5% decrease in shipments between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021. When comparing Q1 2021 to Q1 2020, Huawei saw a 70% decrease.

“Even after one quarter under a new US administration, there are no signs that Huawei’s technology ban on US components and software is ending any time soon,” Omdia noted in a press release.

“The global component shortage is adding additional pressure on the company, as suppliers are looking towards other OEMs for stable business.”

Huawei had a market share of 18% in Q1 2020. This shrank to 9% in Q4 2020 and now stands at 4%.

This also marked the first quarter that Honor, previously a sub-brand of Huawei, operated as an independent entity.

As a result of these challenges, Gerrit Schneemann, principal analyst at Omdia, said that Huawei will disappear from the smartphone market.

“Two well-known smartphone brands will disappear from the global smartphone market this year, in Huawei and LG, opening the door for other brands to reach new markets and buyers,” Schneemann said in a statement.

LG’s exit from the market is a business decision announced by the company in April.

According to Omdia’s data, LG only accounted for 2% of the global smartphone market share in the first quarter of 2021.

However, Huawei has not made any announcements to exit the market — instead focusing on building its own independent ecosystem.

We reached out to Huawei for comment on Omdia’s prediction, however the company did not provide a response.

Only time will tell if Huawei’s efforts will pay off in 2021.

Feature image: Megan Ellis/Memeburn

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