For a while now we have known that Chinese handset maker Huawei means business and they have at various points this year been quoted as the third top smartphone maker after Samsung and Apple. Now there’s more to prove that going by the numbers all the companies are declaring alongside their Q3 financial results and of course research from top research firms like IDC and Strategy Analytics.
Seemingly, the rise of Chinese companies to the top is not anywhere near slowing down with Huawei and Lenovo wheezing past LG to take the third and fourth positions respectively while other Chinese firms Coolpad and ZTE are not far away, just a step behind LG. That is as far as Q3 goes but there should be little wonder if the same is repeated in the final quarter.
According to Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew by 45% to stand at 251.4 million in Q3 compared to 172.8 million in the same period last year. That is significant growth since it is the first time ever that smartphone shipments have gone past the 250 million units mark in a single quarter.
6 out of 10 mobile phones sold in the world in Q3 were smartphones.
This shows that there is increasing demand for smartphones than previously thought and that the dumb/feature phone market has something to worry about as advancements in technology like the introduction of LTE that boasts of significant increase in speeds continue to entice customers to ditch less capable handsets for the more capable smartphones particularly in countries where such is available.
Huawei shipped 14.6 million handsets in Q3 out of which 12.7 million were smartphones. That is a huge increase over the 7 million smartphones that the Chinese device maker shipped over the same period last year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).
As a result, in addition to being number three in the global top smartphone makers list, Huawei makes a comeback in the top handset makers category after being edged out by Lenovo and staying away for a quarter coming in at number five among all handset makers.
Huawei’s P6 and G610 smartphones are said to have been directly responsible for this growth as they are very popular. Quite understandable since the Ascend P6 is a beauty that no one can resist.
The Asia/Pacific region continues to be Huawei’s strongest turf as it contributed a lot to its current fortunes while the Chinese continued making headway to foreign markets like Europe and America. It is still at the top in its home country of China though it faces some very strong competition from rival Lenovo.
Worth noting is that Lenovo and LG follow Huawei as the top smartphone makers coming in at number four and number five respectively. Nokia’s recent 8.8 million shipped smartphones could not be of much help as it failed to make the top five but we should look out for it when the current quarter’s results are in since it now has a solid line up that can easily crack the 11-12 million shipment mark that is enough to land a top five spot.
Decline in sales of Symbian devices and not many Lumia smartphones sold contributed to this since while Nokia has been transitioning to its new Windows Phone line-up and slowly edging out its old cash cows the competition has been solidifying itself, building on its gains.
