Huawei on track to sell more smartphones than Apple in 2019

Huawei is on track to sell 200 million smartphones in 2018, according to the latest sales figures shared by the company.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Huawei mobile chief Richard Yu Chengdong said that, as of July 18th, the company has shipped 100 million smartphones this year. According to Yu, that’s the earliest point in the year Huawei has ever managed to ship that many handsets.

“Previously Huawei reached the 100 million shipments mark on December 22, 2015, October 14, 2016 and September 12, 2017. As it’s only taken just over six months to reach the target this year, we are now aiming for shipments of 200 million units by the end of 2018,” he said in his interview with SCMP‘s Li Tao.

Given that most companies sell more smartphones in the second half of the year than they do in the first half, Huawei’s claim that it will sell 200 million units is realistic.

If Huawei is able to maintain its momentum moving into 2019, there’s a very real possibility that it will surpass Apple as the world’s second-largest smartphone OEM by shipments.

In 2017, the Cupertino, California-based tech giant sold 215 million iPhones. However, sales of Apple’s smartphones have flatlined. Earlier this year, the company reported a first-quarter decline of 2.8 percent decline in smartphone shipments.

If Huawei does manage to surpass Apple, it wouldn’t be the first time. In 2017, the Chinese OEM briefly took the second spot from Apple. However, the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 helped Apple reassert itself against competitors.

Source: South China Morning Post