Apple’s biggest competitor in China could soon supplant it as the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world in terms of units shipped.
Huawei says it’s on track to ship 200 million phones by the end of 2018 after setting a blistering pace of 100 million units shipped as of July 18. That won’t be quite enough to top the number of iPhones Apple sold last year, but 2019 could be Huawei’s biggest year ever.
In 2017, Apple sold a whopping 215 million iPhone units. For 2018, the company is on pace to beat that mark, especially if this year turns into the super upgrade cycle investors have been hoping for. Huawei will have to put up some mighty impressive sales numbers to catch up, but the company thinks it’s on track to top Apple.
Apple vs Huawei
“Previously Huawei reached the 100 million shipments mark on December 22, 2015, October 14, 2016 and September 12, 2017,” said Huawei’s mobile chief Richard Yu Chengdong. “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.”
Huawei is set to release its next flagship Mate series smartphone in the third quarter this year. That’s right around the time Apple is expected to unleash three new iPhones on the market.
While Huawei may not be a huge name in the U.S., it’s starting to dominate markets in Southeast Asia. Huawei and its other brand Honor are starting to make some serious in-roads in India, a region where Apple’s iPhone has struggled to take off.
Last year Huawei got close to overtaking Apple at the middle of the year. The Chinese company had more smartphone shipments than Apple in June and July of 2017. Apple’s iPhone X launch pushed it back over the top though. Huawei finished 2017 with 153.1 million handsets shipped to Apple’s 215.8 million. Meanwhile, Samsung is still way ahead in first place with 317.3 million shipments last year.
