Huawei gains ground on rivals globally, but still struggling in LatAm

Huawei continues to gain ground on rivals Samsung and Apple in the global smartphone market, according to two reports just out.

According to preliminary data from IDC, Apple shipped 68.4mn iPhones in the fourth quarter last year, down 11.5% year-on-year but giving it an 18.2% market share, compared to 16.1% for Chinese brand Huawei, whose shipments increased 43.9% year-on-year in the quarter.

In the IDC report Samsung was the leader with an 18.7% share of sales, although shipments were down 5.5% year-on-year.

Overall, global smartphone vendors shipped 375.4mn units in the fourth quarter of 2018 (4Q18), down 4.9% year-on-year and the fifth consecutive quarterly decline.

According to Strategy Analytcs, Apple's shipments were down 15% year-on-year in Q4 to 65.9mn units. Apple had a 18% share of the global smartphone market in Q4, while Huawei had 16.0%, the consultancy reported.

"Huawei is massively outgrowing the iPhone and we expect Huawei to overtake Apple on a full-year basis worldwide for the first time in 2019," said Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics.

In Latin America, the market is led by Samsung, followed by Motorola and LG. Huawei is struggling to gain ground in the region and does not yet sell phones in some key major Latin America markets, such as Brazil.

Strategy Analytcs' figures show that global smartphone shipments declined 6% to 376mn units in Q4.

Causes for the global decline in smartphone sales range from longer replacement cycles, increasing penetration levels in many large markets, political and economic uncertainty, and growing consumer frustration regarding continuously rising price points.