ΟChinese smartphone makers such as Huawei and Xiaomi are giving Samsung a tough time, especially in the key markets of India and China. The decline in smartphone shipments of the Korean company began late last year and has continued. Market analysis firm Strategy Analytics reveals that Samsung phone shipments fell 13% in the third quarter of 2018. Shipments fell initially by 4% in the 4th quarter of 2017 then 2% in the second quarter of 2018 and 10% the previous year.
Samsung's flagships, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9, failed to slow down. The entry-level and mid-range phones had good sales until last year, but Samsung itself recently acknowledged that it is having a hard time in this area as well. With the contribution of high-end models not delivering the desired results and the middle class being under pressure, Samsung continues to fall.
Huawei and Xiaomi
On the other hand, the Chinese competitors of the company were greatly upgraded during the same period. Huawei showed a 32,5% increase in smartphone sales compared to the third quarter of 2017. The third quarter of 2018 had 14,4% of the smartphone market compared to 20,1% of Samsung. This is the second time that Huawei has surpassed Apple in second place in the global list. Xiaomi also recorded a 19,1% increase on a quarterly basis. Huawei has a stated goal to surpass both Samsung and Apple. It wants to become the top seller of smartphones in the world and continues to converge towards its goal. The most striking fact of China's leading company is that Huawei managed to come in second when it was eliminated in the United States. Huawei is fighting for the first place without participating in the most profitable market in the world!
Counterattack
Samsung, as we have said, is rapidly losing ground in the key markets of China and India. The company has recently revised its strategy by offering more affordable devices with technologies that come straight from the premium category. The Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A9 are perfect examples. The first mobile phones, with three and four cameras respectively, from Samsung are mid-range devices!
The latter expects its sales to increase this quarter precisely because of these devices. It will also launch a foldable smartphone next year to offer a unique product in the high-end segment in addition to the three Galaxy S10 models. Whether this will be enough to stop the Chinese invasion remains unknown at this time.
