Apple Expected to Outpace Huawei in Global Smartphone Shipments Thanks to Strong Sales in China

According to a report by a market research firm TrendForce, Apple’s mobile phone shipments are expected to surpass those of Huawei in the fourth quarter of 2019 thanks to the success of the iPhone 11 in China.

The forecast data given by TrendForce in the report suggests that Apple will reach 69 million shipments in the fourth quarter, with its global market share growing by 6.3 percentage points to 18.7%, surpassing Huawei into second place, just behind Samsung.

Huawei is expected to sell 55 million units in the fourth quarter, with its global market share plummeting from 18% in the previous quarter to 14.9%, placing third in the ranking. Huawei’s decline in international shipments is largely due to their handsets’ potential incompatibility with Google services, which are popular in the developed markets like North American and Europe. According to the report, OPPO, Xiaomi and vivo will continue to gain a foothold in the fourth, fifth and sixth places.

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The iPhone 11 owes a fair deal of its success to a solid performance in the Chinese market prompted by a more affordable price tag compared to its predecessor the iPhone XR. Apple lowered the price for the phone in China by 1,000 yuan. Additionally, concessions and subsidies from third-party platforms including Tmall and Pinduoduo have pushed the price down even further. The price for a new iPhone 11 in China has already fallen below 5,000 yuan from the original price of 5499 yuan.


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