Smartphone Market Facing Upheaval?

Smartphone Market Facing Upheaval?

In times of the Corona crisis, Huawei and Apple turn out to be the clear winners of the smartphone war, the loser is Samsung. According to the latest figures from the analysis company Gartner, smartphone sales by the Koreans fell by 27 percent in the second quarter, while Samsung's market share shrank from 20.3 to 18.6 percent. In contrast, Apple and Huawei were able to increase their market shares significantly. But this is only a snapshot that will soon no longer have much in common with the new reality on the smartphone market. Because there is already a huge wrecking ball ready to destroy all the market shares that Huawei has so diligently collected over the past few years.

Death blow for Huawei?

This wrecking ball bears the lettering of the US President. Donald Trump sees Huawei as the "extended arm of the Chinese surveillance state". It was only in August that the US government tightened its sanctions against Huawei. Chip manufacturers are now prohibited from selling chips with US technology to Huawei under threat of punishment. Is that the death knell for Huawei? Many experts think: yes. Because this makes it practically impossible for Huawei to continue producing competitive chips. Huawei's chip stores are now full. If the US ban is not lifted, Huawei should face serious problems in the coming year at the latest. Huawei could be forced out of the global smartphone market. A gigantic vacuum would remain. Who could fill it? Can Trump actually shift the global market equilibrium in the smartphone market in favor of a US company? Apple is bursting with confidence The fact is: unlike Samsung, Apple is currently swimming on a wave of success. A look at the stock chart alone shows that. Since the beginning of the year there has been an increase of 54 percent. At its peak, before the recent correction on the Nasdaq, it was even 88 percent.

Xiaomi conquers Europe

For many Europeans, Xiaomi is no longer an all-too "new" brand. Already number four behind Apple on the global smartphone market, the Chinese manufacturer beat its domestic competitor Huawei for the first time in Europe in the second quarter and moved up to third place. Xiaomi's sales in Europe soared 65 percent, while Huawei's revenues shrank 17 percent. According to industry experts, Xiaomi's strategy is very simple: become the new Huawei! Huawei once set out to break up the Apple-Samsung duopoly. With success. Now it looks as if Xiaomi could pick up where Huawei has to stop. Xiaomi could also jump into the Huawei gap in the higher-priced segment. In the second quarter, Xiaomi's sales in the premium segment outside of China increased by an impressive 99 percent.