Huawei set to narrow gap with Samsung in smartphone shipments

Samsung is expected to ship 323 million smartphones, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics while Huawei is estimated to ship 251 million units.

A Huawei sign is seen on its booth under construction ahead of an intelligent transportation expo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China December 5, 2019. (REUTERS)

Chinese telecom and smartphone giant Huawei is set to narrow the gap with the world's largest smartphone maker -- Samsung, in terms of market share even as the South Korean major is widely expected to grab the highest market share of 21.3 per cent in 2019, a new report has said.

Samsung is expected to ship 323 million smartphones, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics while Huawei is estimated to ship 251 million units, to take up 17.7 per cent of the smartphone market this year.

Huawei's estimated market share in 2019 is a sharp rise from from 14.4 per cent a year ago, the market research agency noted.

The estimated shipments and market share are both slightly up from 291 million units and 20.3 per cent a year ago, respectively, it said, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

Huawei posted a strong performance on its home turf on the back of a patriotic buying spree, offsetting uncertainty in North America and Western Europe following a US ban on the Chinese company.

The market share between the two companies narrowed from 5.9 percentage points in 2018 to 3.6 percentage points.

US tech behemoth Apple's iPhone, meanwhile, is expected to ship 193 million units this year, with a 13.6 per cent share over the period, the market researcher said.