Huawei has confirmed today that it has now shipped more than 200 million smartphones in 2018. The company announced earlier this month that the milestone will be achieved by December 25.

Last year, Huawei said it sold 153 million units. It’s smartphone shipments have grown from 3 million units in 2010.

“In the global smartphone market, Huawei has gone from being dismissed as a statistical ‘other’ to ranking among the Top 3 players in the world,” Huawei said in its statement (via CNET).







According to the company, more than 500 million people in over 170 countries are using Huawei smartphones. Huawei’s smartphones are popular in Europe and China, but almost non-existent in the US.

In August, the company raised its shipment forecast for 2018 from 180 million to 200 million and said it aims to become the world’s largest phone vendor by the end of 2019.

Huawei, which surpassed Apple in both the second and third quarter this year to become the world’s second-largest smartphone vendor behind South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, has seen explosive growth in its smartphone division which is now approaching the revenue contribution seen from its core telecoms equipment business, according to its 2017 annual report released in March.