Huawei nearly overtook Samsung as the largest smartphone maker in the United States in 2020. A survey of device data sent to vendors indicates that the Chinese company led the American Android smartphone market at times during the year, but government bans ended up impacting its growth. Samsung and Apple lead the global market.
The Chinese manufacturer is among the fastest-growing companies in the last decade. Thanks to its diverse portfolio of devices, Huawei easily outperformed competitors such as Motorola and LG in 2020. However, competition from Samsung is still far away in the West.
According to a survey carried out by the German institute The report of Statista, specialized in electronics market data, factors such as the pandemic's impact on the economy and supply and inputs for production contributed to Huawei becoming a real threat to Samsung in 2020, leading the American market in the number of smartphones that arrived in stores.
During the first three quarters of 2020, Huawei surpassed Samsung in the United States, with a share of approximately 40% of all shipments issued to the market compared to Samsung's 30%.
However, starting in June, when the US government tightened sanctions that effectively suspended support for Google services on Huawei devices in the country, the story changed, with Samsung regaining the lead.
Furthermore, outside of the US, Huawei is still struggling to consolidate itself in relation to market leaders. In Europe, for example, the Chinese manufacturer spent the year with an average of 12%, while Apple and Samsung have 18% and 37% of smartphone manufacturing respectively.
Smartphone Market Share Chart of Apple, Huawei and Samsung in Europe. Samsung and Apple remain in the lead. Image: Stadista
Data reflects the number of products issued to sellers
In a year where devices like the Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note 20 and the iPhone 12 were some of the most talked about among the public, it may even seem strange to think that Huawei has surpassed companies like Samsung and Apple in sales.
In fact, the methodology used by Stadista does not necessarily reflect the sales of a specific product, but rather the quantity of shipments issued by suppliers to manufacturers. Therefore, it is natural to understand that companies like Huawei and Samsung are ahead of the curve. Apple, for example, considering that the number of devices in the companies' portfolio is much greater than that of the American company.
Therefore, the data presented by the research only serve to represent the share of products issued to the smartphone market, without expressing in practice the number of devices sold. In terms of number of sales, other companies like Xiaomi also enter the dispute.
For Samsung, Huawei's growth is also positive
Despite the Chinese manufacturer's positive numbers in 2020, anyone who thinks that Samsung could view Huawei as a threat is mistaken.
The truth is that the growth of the Chinese manufacturer is also beneficial for Samsung. The Korean manufacturer is Huawei's main supplier of OLED displays, so every device sold by the competitor also generates a profit for itself.
Acting as a supplier has been very important for Samsung as a company, to the point that the company itself acted as an intermediary in favor of Huawei in the American market, asking the Government for authorization to allow it to continue supplying panels to Huawei even after the sanctions imposed in the country.
In addition, the company recently announced a new factory in India. dedicated entirely to the production of displays for smartphones.
Samsung leads in foldable screens, but loses to Apple on smartwatches
Stadista's research also brought other interesting data about the behavior of the electronics market in 2020. Despite Huawei's good performance with the American public, the Huawei Mate XS - the company's foldable cell phone - did not surpass the sales of the Samsung Z Fold.
Despite this, both companies lose to Apple when it comes to wearables. The manufacturer of Apple Watch leads the smartwatch market with approximately 28% of the market. In second place is Xiaomi with the Amazift line and 23% share. Next comes Huawei, which surpassed Samsung with 15% of sales compared to its competitor's 10%.
Apple remains the leader in the smartwatch market, followed by Xiaomi with the Amazfit line. Image: Statista
2021 will be marked by the 5G dispute
Despite the disputes in the sale of devices, what will define the success of companies like Samsung and Huawei in 2021 will be participation in the supply of parts and patents for 5G connections.
With the arrival of the new technology in practically the entire world, companies will compete in the market to establish commercial partnerships in the manufacture of antennas, modems and other devices. In this regard, Huawei ends the year depending on how the new American government will act in its endeavor in the West.
The company is currently suffering severe criticism from the United States which, in addition to not allowing its operations on American territory, has also forced allied countries not to close agreements or import its technology. Brazil is one of them.
Even with the difficulties in the international smartphone market, Huawei remains one of the main companies in China and should not continue its operations in the market without many concerns.
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