This year has been a surprise for everyone--- smartphone manufacturers included.
For years, Samsung has consistently topped the list of the world’s largest smartphone sellers. In Q2 2020 however, they were overtaken by Chinese manufacturer, Huawei. But things could likely be different by next year.
This analysis was made by a new report done by DigiTimes. According to the report, Huawei could be slipping down to the seventh spot in 2021.
Needless to say, the pandemic has caused a setback to the smartphone market. It has been slowly making its way to recovery in the start of the year after a three-year decline. But because of the health crisis, this progress has been stalled.
The report sees a growth of about 150 million units. But the global market is also expected to fall 9.5 percent year-over-year (YOY) to 1.2 billion units in 2020.
As expected, this growth could be brought about by the demand for 5G-enabled devices in the US, Western Europe, and Japan. There is a forecasted growth from 200 million (2020) to 1.22 billion units in 2025 for the sales of 5G-ready devices throughout the world.
One way shipments can be boosted is by making more entry-level 5G and 4G devices available. The total sales of these devices are expected to hit over 1.5 billion units (2023) and 1.7 billion units (2025), respectively.
As for the brands that could be dominating the market, it’s likely that Samsung will stay on the top of the list by 2021. It could be followed by Apple and Oppo, in second and third place. More Chinese brands will likely follow this list, such as Vivo, Xiaomi, and Transsion.
Huawei’s drop in ranking could be possible if the US-imposed sanctions will not be lifted. This is expected to affect the company’s sales and drop to 50 million units. As of this writing, its major partners have already halted supplies. Huawei, however, has a stockpile of crucial components, which can still manage to sell almost 195 million handsets in this year alone.
