Huawei had grand plans to overthrow Samsung as the biggest smartphone brand, even though the plan was expected to be achieved by 2020. However, a company executive states that if a series of bans were not targeted at the Chinese giant, it would have achieved its long-awaited goal much sooner. Huawei smartphones, as most of you know aren’t popular in the U.S. and despite this setback, the technology behemoth managed to attain the number-two position in the smartphone market.
Huawei Executive Believes Company Would Have Reached Its Goal in the Fourth Quarter of This Year
According to Shao Yang, chief strategy officer of Huawei Consumer Business Group, reportedly told CES Asia in Shanghai the following concerning the company’s position in the smartphone market.
“We would have become the largest in the fourth quarter (of this year) but now we feel that this process may take longer.”
For 2018, Canalys reports that Huawei sold 206 million units, while Samsung managed to ship 293.7 million phones during the same period. How Huawei could top Samsung’s number this year is still our guess, but it looks like the executive was confident enough that it would have been possible for the firm. Also, given the fact that Samsung has bounced back ferociously with the launch of the Galaxy S10 series, as well considerably improved models belonging in the lower tier range, it would make things more difficult for Huawei to reach the top spot.
With the bans set in place, which range from ARM and U.S. companies like Intel, and others cutting their business ties with Huawei, achieving the goal has got a lot more difficult, while also putting the company’s smartphone arm in jeopardy. Huawei intends to tackle these obstacles with its own operating system, with some reports calling it HongMeng OS, while others state it will be referred to as ARK OS.
Huawei will certainly be fighting an uphill battle as it will need to woo developers to make the effort and design apps specifically for the company’s custom app store. The home-grown operating system will be launched in China first, where Huawei has a commanding lead of the smartphone market, followed by the rest of the world. Still, not having access to Google’s slew of apps and services will make it difficult for customers to switch to upcoming hardware unless of course, Huawei has something better to offer.
Do you think Huawei would have been able to become the largest smartphone brand this year if it weren’t for those bans? Tell us your thoughts down in the comments.
You might also like to check out:
- Huawei Phone Shipments Could Tumble up to 24 Percent if the Android Licensing Ban Stays Put, According to Analysts
- Huawei Executive Opens up About Custom OS; Its Expected Release, Platform Compatibility & Current Global Affairs
- Huawei Wants Its Sub-Brand Honor to Become the Fourth-Largest Smartphone Brand in the World
News Source: TechRadar
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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