Smartphone sales fell 2.7 percent in the first quarter to 373 million units worldwide, according to the latest study from Gartner. The US and China, the two countries that sell the most smartphones, saw sales decline by 15.8 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. Samsung still leads, but Huawei has surprisingly managed to maintain its second place, narrowing the gap with number one thanks to sales in China despite the US ban!

The Huawei ban saga is one of the most interesting things to have come out of the tech world in recent years, but it hasn’t stopped them. Huawei achieved the highest year-over-year growth among the world’s top five – Samsung, Huawei, Apple and Chinese smartphone makers OPPO and Vivo. Huawei sold 58.4 million smartphone units in the quarter, with growth across all regions, the report showed.

“Demand for premium smartphones remained lower than for basic smartphones, which affected brands such as Samsung and Apple that have significant stakes in high-end smartphones,” Anshul Gupta, Senior Research Director at Gartner, said in a statement.

The U.S., Apple’s largest smartphone market, saw total smartphone sales fall by 15.8% during the first quarter. “Apple is facing longer replacement cycles as users struggle to see enough value benefits to justify replacing existing iPhones,” Gupta said. Even though Apple cut iPhone prices in several markets, the move wasn’t enough to stoke demand and raise sales.

Companies that have either shunned Huawei completely or restricted buying from the company include Google, Softbank’s ARM, Analog Devices, U.S. chipmakers Intel Corp, Qualcomm Inc, Xilinx Inc, Broadcom Inc, Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp and BT Group’s EE. Of that list, only Panasonic has continued trade with Huawei. The WiFi, Bluetooth SIG and SD associations have also relisted the company as a partner.

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(Source)

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