Counterpoint’s smartphone numbers for Q2 2018 are out, and their ranking of the top 10 smartphone brands in the world is out. Three brands have our attention here at Mobility Arena. Maybe four. Huawei has skipped over Apple to become the world’s second-largest smartphone maker, Nokia is continuing its strong streak and now sits at the number 9 spot, and TECNO Mobile is in the 10th position.
If you have followed the trends for a while, you will understand why these performances are newsworthy. I will summarize them below.
Huawei Mobile
Huawei has had a hard time with the Americans. A very hard time. Again and again, the Chinese brand has had obstacles placed before it in the US market. But despite all that, they have pushed on and successfully gained huge grounds elsewhere – especially in India and China. And the result is that they have shipped 10 million smartphones more than Apple in Q2 2018.
Amazing. Nothing short of remarkable. This is partly due to the huge success of Huawei’s Honor sub-brand.
Nokia Mobile
Everyone had given up on Nokia, but in the last one and a half year of the brand’s re-entry into the smartphone market, it has thrown up a strong performance and made its way back into the list of the top 10 smartphone brands in the world.
As I have said before, the Nokia brand is arguably the world’s strongest mobile brand and HMD Global has done a great job using that as a leverage. Of course, they have created very good smartphones too.
Of the 2018 releases from HMD Global, the Nokia 7 Plus is looking to be the year’s bestseller. For a mid-ranger, it packs a wallop and is huge value-for-money.
TECNO Mobile
For many years, TECNO sold its smartphones only in Africa, and they did a heck of a job with it. Betting on Africa was a good move. In recent years, they also bet on Asia. Who, in their right senses, would ignore the huge Indian smartphone market, for example? Well, TECNO’s moves have paid off. The mobile brand is finally among the top 10 smartphone brands in the world. Bravo!
Xiaomi
I did say maybe 4; right? The fourth brand worthy of a honorary mention here is Xiaomi. Xiaomi is in the 4th place right on the heels of Apple on the top 10 list. And if Apple does not step up their game, Xiaomi will take the 3rd spot from them the same way Huawei took the 2nd spot from them.
The Q2 2018 Top 10 Smartphone Brands in the World
The top 10 smartphone brands accounted for 79% of the smartphone volumes in Q2 2018. Here is the list:
- Samsung Mobile
- Huawei Mobile
- Apple
- Xiaomi
- Oppo Mobile
- vivo
- LG
- Lenovo Mobile
- Nokia Mobile
- TECNO Mobile
In all, the fastest growing brands of Q2 2018 were Nokia, OnePlus, TECNO, Xiaomi, Infinix and Huawei.
Update on the top 10 smartphone brands in the world (2018)
Gartner released sales figures for Q2 2018, and they confirm Huawei’s new position. According to Gartner, Huawei sold 5 million more smartphones than Apple in Q2 2018. Gartner’s ranking tallies with Counterpoint’s, so this is official. Huawei has secured the global no. 2 smartphone vendor spot, pushing Apple to 3rd place.
All the indicators tell us that Apple is facing stiff competition, mainly from Chinese manufacturers. The company is also struggling in China, where iPhone sales have dropped in recent times. Apple is hoping to change the tide with this year’s smartphone announcements. The Cupertino giant is still in 3rd place among the top 10 smartphone brands in the world, though, so it is still very much a brand everyone else has to contend with.