Huawei says it will become world’s largest smartphone company by 2020

Huawei says it will become the world’s largest smartphone company by 2020 even as Samsung has said it will retain the top spot for at least another 10 years – clearly, the heat is on. Both Samsung and Huawei have been facing heat on different fronts – Samsung seeing declining smartphone sales globally, and Huawei facing a ban from the US, Brazil and South Korea over trust issues. But neither party is seemingly in disarray – rather, they seem to be taking it all in their stride and charging along. 

Especially Huawei that seems to be taking all the negative press in positive light – the company has been alleged to be a spy of the Chinese government by the US. Huawei’s Richard Yu said, on the sidelines of the P30 Pro launch in Paris recently, that the negative press has in fact helped the company get better publicity – more people around the world now know about Huawei (and its devices). 

Huawei is currently the world’s third largest smartphone company and it is inching closer to Apple – Huawei is also said to have usurped Apple briefly to become the world’s second largest smartphone company according to data released by a few research firms. While it might not happen in 2019, by the end of 2020, Huawei expects to better both Apple and Samsung (using the combined strength of Huawei+Honor), Yu said.  

The company also wants Honor to grow leaps and bounds as well along the way – Yu said, Huawei expects Honor to become China’s second largest smartphone maker, and the world’s fourth largest soon.  

Huawei maybe banned in the US, Brazil and South Korea, but it has thought out ways to increase its market share – by looking at India. Huawei has been active in India a lot lately – it has been launching its new flagships here soon after announcing them elsewhere. The P30 Pro is a classic example. Honor is meanwhile more at home in India than Huawei – it has been here for a while and is known for bringing well-made and well performing smartphones at affordable prices. The Honor View 20 is a classic example. 

Still, an absence in the US, Brazil and South Korea should amount to something – which is where Huawei’s claim of topping Apple and Samsung seems bold, as of this moment. It would be interesting to see how the company plans on going about achieving its target.  

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