Huawei Pips Apple to Become Second Largest Smartphone Brand in Q1 2019, iPhone X Bestselling Phone of 2018: Counterpoint Research

Continuing its rise in the smartphone world, Huawei pushed past Apple to become the second biggest smartphone brand in terms of shipments in the first quarter of 2019, claims the latest research from Counterpoint Research. The research firm says the Chinese telecommunications giant shipped as many as 59.1 million smartphones in Q1, up from 39.3 million shipments during the same period last year. Separately, another Counterpoint Research report reveals that iPhone X was the bestselling smartphone of 2018 and the Apple had as many as six phones in the top ten models, based on market share.

According to the latest Counterpoint Research report, Huawei's global smartphone market share reached 17 percent, an all-time high for the company, during Q1 2019. With shipment volume increase of almost 50 percent, the Chinese company was able to surpass Apple to take the second spot among the top five biggest smartphone brands in the world.

Samsung shipped 72 million smartphones in Q1 2019
Photo Credit: Counterpoint Research

“Huawei became the second largest smartphone brand by shipment without a significant presence in an important market like the United States,” said Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research, in a statement. “It was also the fastest growing brand among the top 10. At this pace, we expect Huawei to remain ahead of Apple at the end of 2019.”

Samsung still tops the list with 72 million shipments and a 21 percent market share. The South Korean company's shipments, however, declined eight percent and the market share dropped one percent year-over-year.

Apple's Q1 2019 shipments dropped a hefty 20 percent and its market share declined by 2 percent. The report added that the iPhone XR was the bestselling iPhone in the quarter.

Among the top ten smartphone brands, the only brands, other than Huawei, to gain market share and see an increase in shipments were Oppo and Vivo, both of which saw an increase of 10 percent and 20 percent in the shipments respectively. LG saw the biggest percentage drop in shipments with 40 percent decline year-over-year.

The research report also claims that the overall global smartphone shipments declined 5 percent year-over-year and it was the sixth consecutive quarter to see a decline.

In another report, the research firm revealed that Apple's iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 were the top four smartphones, based on model sales, in 2018. The company's iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR also found a place in top ten – at spot 7 and 8 respectively - despite their launch in late-September 2018.

The other smartphones to find a place in the list were Xiaomi Redmi 5A, Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S9+, and Samsung Galaxy J6.