Samsung envisions itself leading the smartphone pack for another decade, despite a serious challenge from competitor Huawei. The battle is on for the position of world’s No. 1 smartphone manufacturer, and it’s currently between Samsung — which holds the spot now — and Apple and Huawei, both of which are right behind it. Huawei’s Richard Yu, the president of Huawei Business Group, recently made his intentions with the Huawei and Honor brands clear, but now Samsung’s CEO DJ Koh has struck back.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Koh is quoted as saying Samsung has led the smartphone market for the past 10 years, and will continue to do so for the next 10. It will hold the coveted position by innovating and creating new mobile experiences. Devices like the Galaxy Fold are subsequently mentioned, along with 5G and artificial intelligence — technologies Koh says are developing faster than initially thought.
Koh’s commanding claim on the coming decade comes a few days after Huawei’s Yu laid out some goals for the near future. He wants Huawei as the world’s number one smartphone manufacturer, and sub-brand Honor to come in fourth place. This line-up would see Samsung and Apple sandwiched between the two. Despite stating these targets, Yu did not publicly put a timeframe in place to achieve them.
Samsung’s right to be confident, as it has successfully held on to the world’s No. 1 spot for so long, and with a focus on a clearer, more varied range with strong devices to tempt us regardless of budget considerations, it’s not showing signs of weakness. Huawei is growing at a tremendous rate, and launching flagship devices that arguably surpass Samsung’s efforts in cutting-edge technology and design.
At the end of 2018, Counterpoint Research’s data showed Samsung with an 18% global market share, followed by Apple with 17%, and Huawei with 15%. Gartner called 2018, “the year of Huawei,” after the company’s sales shot up by 37.6%. It also notes Samsung and Apple’s flagship devices fell during the same period. However, Huawei’s inability to sell its smartphones in the U.S. makes it that little bit harder to loosen Samsung’s grip on the title.
Huawei has recently launched the P30 Pro, and will follow it up with the Mate X folding smartphone in the coming months. Samsung is weeks away from the Galaxy Fold’s release, and already has the Galaxy S10 range in stores.
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