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Huawei Declares Ambition to Be No.1 After Dethroning Apple
Huawei Technologies Co., which just edged past Apple Inc. to become the world's second-largest smartphone maker, wants to be top of the heap before the end of 2019.
The Chinese giant shipped more than 95 million phones in the first six months, up about 30 percent from a year earlier. Consumer division chief Richard Yu on Friday said he wants Huawei to be No. 1 in smartphones by the fourth quarter of next year, with a market share of more than 20 percent -- despite acknowledging its virtual absence in a pivotal U.S. market.
Huawei this year overcame a global slump by grabbing sales from Apple and current leader Samsung Electronics Co. The fast-growing consumer division has helped Huawei, the leader in global telecommunications equipment, get past lackluster demand from carriers globally. Despite barely making a dent in the U.S., it's managed to build a strong presence in $600-plus phones in markets from Europe to Africa, which in turn allowed it to break Apple's and Samsung's years-long stranglehold on the global market.
Also at WSJ, Business Insider, and CNBC.
See also: Global tablet sales decline, with only Apple and Huawei showing growth
Related: Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
Rural Wireless Association Opposes U.S. Government Ban on Huawei and ZTE Equipment
Huawei Has Ended Support for Unlocking Bootloaders on Its Devices
Apple Becomes First US Company to Exceed $1 Trillion Market Capitalization
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @02:58PM (2 children)
is have some fun!
I've got a feeling, I'm not the only one!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @03:32PM (1 child)
Girls just wanna have fun
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @02:42AM
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday August 05 2018, @04:23PM (6 children)
So who's#1?
Oh, it must be Microsoft with that amazing Nokia deal they made.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Redundant) by WizardFusion on Sunday August 05 2018, @05:05PM (3 children)
you clearly can't read...
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday August 05 2018, @05:31PM (2 children)
You clearly missed the attempt at humour.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @05:45PM (1 child)
You need to reset your funny bone.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Monday August 06 2018, @02:09PM
Care to break it for me first?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @08:25PM (1 child)
Every time I see a Microsoft phone in the wild I say "Oh No-kia". It's pretty funny, but I've only had a chance to say it twice.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday August 05 2018, @09:00PM
I remember a simpler time [wikipedia.org].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @08:37PM (15 children)
Apple is still #1 or #2 in sales and profit, which are better metrics for a business that "units shipped".
(Score: 5, Interesting) by takyon on Sunday August 05 2018, @08:57PM (2 children)
If Huawei's purpose is to spread millions of China-backdoored units across the planet rather than turn a bigger profit, it could be the right metric.
Alternatively, Huawei phones are more secure because they are made out of the reach of the NSA. And we care more about the number of phones shipped/sold and their pricing rather than the company's profits.
Either way, Huawei is here to stay (for now).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @09:36PM (1 child)
FTFY
I don't think a major carrier in the US sells Huawei phones at the moment, but the UK has Huawei telecom hardware built deep in their infrastructure.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Monday August 06 2018, @06:14AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @09:17PM
True, the 80/20 rule.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday August 05 2018, @09:41PM (7 children)
Different markets. Yes, there is some overlap in the U.S., but generally there is a certain group of people who like the cache of the iPhone and are willing to pay $500 -- or $1000 -- for a phone (or a similarly ridiculous monthly plan with a "free" phone), and there is another segment of the population which either doesn't have enough disposable income for that or simply is happier to spend $100-200 or whatever for a phone. And then there's the majority of the world's population in other countries, for whom the cost of an iPhone is often patently absurd relative to their standard of living in their country.
Apple doesn't give a crap about the latter two groups. They really don't. They want the "luxury market" and aren't interested in making cheaper options.
Lots of markets for goods are segmented this way. What's somewhat amazing is that Apple has managed to take something that really is a "luxury good" considering the average budget and convinced a large number of middle class and even poorer people that it's necessary to keep buying their new products... Mostly through the power of monthly fees for phone service that hide the cost of the phone.
Anyhow, that's all great, and they (like other luxury goods brands) have a business strategy that focuses on name rather than price relative to competitors. That's their choice, but there's something to be said for volume and market saturation too. There might be more limited growth potential long-term for a company that refuses to market to the "average" consumer. But only time will tell. Apple certainly has cultivated a much larger vocal fanbase than many would have expected a couple decades ago. But that depends on continuing to convince consumers that their products are worth the cost (along with planned obsolescence/replacement expectation on a regular basis).
Personally, I wouldn't buy an iPhone because of how it's locked down. I might actually buy a Mac if they offered a more reasonably priced option (I am not a strong critic of their computers or OS, only their prices), but no way I'm paying the premium. So I'm simply not part of their market and never will be unless they grossly change their business strategy. Whereas a company like Huawei offers products that might interest both the premium market and those who want cheaper models.
(Score: 2) by Apparition on Sunday August 05 2018, @11:31PM (2 children)
The only Apple product that is sensibly priced is the iPad. I bought two two months ago for $360 each, (after taxes). I have a feeling it's because Apple is trying to keep the iPads competitive in the school market. I don't like the lockdown, but iPads are the sole viable tablets these days.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Acabatag on Monday August 06 2018, @02:21AM
I hear so many people saying 'the iPad is the only viable option' but I really like my Galaxy Tab A. And it was under $200.
I guess I just don't get what's so special about an iPad.
(Score: 2) by stormreaver on Monday August 06 2018, @03:23AM
I have two Lenovo tablets that are great for gaming, Netflix, Web, etc. I have found that most tablets beat Samsung nowadays.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @12:13AM (1 child)
There is a premium built into the price of a Mac, but the quality and longevity is certainly worth something. I have 2 identical 2011 27" iMacs that have been running non-stop since Oct 2011. The only issue I've had is a hard drive needing to be replaced last year. Both use i5 CPUs & 32GB, and have plenty of horsepower. I can't complain about the value and reliability.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday August 06 2018, @12:39AM
I have a ~$400 laptop with an AMD A6-3400M APU and 8 GB of RAM. The screen has some deterioration at the edges and the left hinge of the laptop is about to come off. It has been used since mid-2011 and much more heavily in the last 5 years. The HDD still works.
I'm hoping to make it to around 2020 so I can get a 7nm or 5nm Ryzen laptop with 6-8 cores. If I want quality, I'd spend maybe $800 instead of $400. But I definitely got my $400 worth and much, much more.
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(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday August 06 2018, @01:57AM
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/04/the-greedy-ways-apple-got-to-1-trillion/ [techcrunch.com]
Check out the comments lol.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @04:16AM
Yep, here in the USofA, I see a lot of the homeless using iPhones.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday August 06 2018, @12:09AM (1 child)
Huawei phones are good enough, every phone they sell is a phone Apple will surely not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @02:15PM
Perhaps it is: when I had to migrate from Nokia, I bought an android phone for the freedom. Android sucked so much ass, I got real in two months and bought an iPhone that I jailbroke.
(Score: 1) by Acabatag on Monday August 06 2018, @02:23AM
Apple is still #1 or #2 in sales and profit, which are better metrics for a business that "units shipped".
From the seller's point of view, you might be correct. But not for The Rest of Us (tm).
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 05 2018, @11:02PM
Please do something about the usurpation of the Yakima City Council: https://www.aclu-wa.org/cases/montes-v-city-yakima-0 [aclu-wa.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @01:53PM
they may be good phones but the way it is pronounced it should be written "Wow-way".
probably one of many typos one can find it poorly translated chinese product manuals ...