Huawei Takes Global Smartphone Crown From Samsung

What’s new: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. overtook Samsung Electronics Co. in quarterly smartphone shipments and became the world’s top vendor for the first time, industry research firm Canalys said in a report Thursday.

During the three months through June, the Chinese company shipped 55.8 million devices, down 5% year-on-year. Samsung came in second place with 53.7 million smartphones, falling a steep 30% from the same period last year.

The background: Huawei’s top-ranking performance marks the first quarter in nine years that a company other than Samsung or Apple has led the market.

However, it could be challenging for Huawei to keep this title. The U.S. sanctions that strip the firm’s access to Google services for its phones have forced it to pivot towards the Chinese market.

In the second quarter, over 70% of its device shipments were in China, where an early emergence from the global Covid-19 pandemic boosted sales by 8%. Its shipments in markets outside China, however, dropped 27%.

“Strength in China alone will not be enough to sustain Huawei at the top once the global economy starts to recover,” said Mo Jia an analyst at Canalys. “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.”

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use.

Related: Huawei May Become the World’s Biggest 5G-Phone Maker This Year

Contact reporter Mo Yelin (yelinmo@caixin.com)