Huawei's global smartphone shipments jump 25% in first half

HONG KONG: China's Huawei Technologies, the world's third-largest smartphone vendor, said first-half global smartphone shipments jumped 25%, helped by rapid growth in traditionally high-end markets such as Europe.

Shenzhen-based Huawei, which competes with Samsung Electronics and Apple , shipped 60.5 million smartphones globally in the first half.

Huawei's consumer business group, which includes its smartphone division, booked global revenue of 77.4 billion yuan ($11.6 billion) for the first six months, up 41% from last year.

Huawei aims to surpass market leaders Samsung and Apple within five years to become the world's top smartphone vendor.

Huawei P9 smartphone with dual rear setup to launch in India on August 17

Huawei P9 has a dual-rear camera setup with dual-tone LED flash, along with an 8MP front-facing snapper for selfies.

Industry watchers, however, are less optimistic. They said Huawei is facing stiffer competition from domestic rivals such as Xiaomi and Lenovo Group as cost-conscious consumers are looking for alternatives with similar features in an increasingly saturated global market.

Huawei's head of consumer business Richard Yu was, however, bullish about the firm's long-term prospects.

"There are only three major smartphone vendors in the world - Apple , Samsung and Huawei. It's consolidating...other vendors will die in the next three to five years," he told a news conference. Research firm TrendForce last week cut its estimate for Huawei's annual smartphone shipments by 8.5% to 119 million units, citing worse-than-expected sales of Huawei's flagship phone. "The sales of Huawei's flagship P9, which features a dual camera, may fall short of expectations as other Chinese brands release competitive products," said TrendForce analyst Avril Wu. Huawei held 9 percent of the global smartphone market in the second quarter of this year, a distant third behind Samsung's 24.5% and Apple's 15%, according to TrendForce.
Source: Huawei's global smartphone shipments jump 25% in first half