Yesterday, Apple reported a 7% increase in its year-over-year (YoY) revenue for the third fiscal quarter of 2017. Apparently, this isn"t enough to solidify its position as second in terms of smartphone volume sales, as recent reports from research firms Canalys and Strategy Analytics suggest that Huawei is closing in to supplant Apple, only 3 million behind in terms of smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2017.
As the above statistics show, Apple has shipped 41 million iPhones, increasing the number of annual shipments by 2% compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Canalys notes that:
Worldwide shipments of 38 million units, growth of 20% for Huawei, helped it close the gap with the leading pair and get within 3 million units of taking the second place from Apple.
Similarly, Strategy Analytics" quarterly report suggests almost identical figures - a 2.6 million difference between smartphone sales for both companies in Q2 2017. Apple and Huawei sold 41.0 million units and 38.4 million respectively, while Samsung continues to lead with 79.5 million sales; a 1.9 million increase compared to Q2 2016. Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, provides further insight, saying that:
Huawei maintained third position with a record 11 percent global smartphone marketshare in Q2 2017, up from 9 percent a year ago. Huawei is now closing in fast on Apple and Apple will be looking nervously over its shoulder in the next few quarters. Huawei is outperforming across Asia, Europe and Africa with popular Android models such as the P10 and Mate 9.
However, it should be noted that these reports show statistics prior to the release of the upcoming iPhone 8. Strong sales in the coming months could help Huawei overtake Apple, but this lead might prove to be short-term as Apple usually receives a major boost in sales during the holiday season. Huawei executives will have their sights set firmly on the imminent release of the Huawei Mate 10, which would provide the firm more ammo to compete with Apple.
Source: Canalys, Strategic Analytics via Bussiness Insider