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According to a recent report from the market analyst Canalys, Huawei overtakes Samsung as No.1 smartphone manufacturer in the world.

The South Korean Electronics giant took over the top smartphone manufacturer from Nokia in 2012 and held the position ever since. It appears that even though the US trade ban went into effect last year, Huawei posted a strong sales even without the Google Services, including Play Store, Drive, YouTube, etc. Huawei released its P30 Mate and P40 without the Google Services, hence these devices were not well received in the global markets.

Huawei shipped 55.8 million units to take the No. 1 manufacturer from Samsung in Canalys report Q2 2020

Most of the smartphone vendors recorded a negative growth in sales due to the lockdown and movement restrictions lead by the global pandemic. According to Canalys report Q2 2020 , Its global shipments fell 27% in Q2, 2020. But it has completely dominated the Chinese market with a 8% growth from Q1 with a 72% market share in its domestic market.

Huawei has taken the full advantage of the Chinese recovery from the COVID19 pandemic. When its global competitor Samsung saw a sales slowdown in their core markets like US, India, Europe and Brazil by virus outbreaks and followed by the lockdown. Samsung has a very less presence in China with a market share is less than 1%.

The world’s largest smartphone market, China, declined 7% in Q2 2020, but its economy is gathering momentum amid successful virus suppression. Huawei was the clear market leader in China, taking a 44% market share. The US was the second-largest market. Apple, its longstanding leader, showed double-digit growth in the quarter. India, the world’s third-largest market, shrank 48% to 17.3 million units amid a strict lockdown.

Samsung managed to ship 53.7 million units in Q2 compared to the shipments with 76.9 million units in 2019 and managed to take the second spot. However, it is likely that Samsung will take back its position back in coming quarters, as most of their stronghold markets are opening up the market slowly and expected to pick up the sales slowly.

In the report, Apple finished Q2 third and it was the only manufacturer who posted growth. According to the Canalys Analyst Vincent Thielke, for Apple, Its new iPhone SE was critical in the quarter, accounting for around 28% of its global volume, while iPhone 11 remained a strong best-seller at nearly 40%. iPhone SE will remain crucial to prop up volume this year, amid delays to Apple’s next flagship release.

Xiaomi shipped 28.8 million devices in Q2 to take the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world with a 10.1% market share. Where the Chinese manufacturer Oppo finished fifth with 9.1% market share.

According to Canalys Analyst Mo Jia, “It will be hard for Huawei to maintain its lead in the long term. Its major channel partners in key regions, such as Europe, are increasingly wary of ranging Huawei devices, taking on fewer models, and bringing in new brands to reduce risk. Strength in China alone will not be enough to sustain Huawei at the top once the global economy starts to recover.”