Huawei Overtakes Xiaomi To Top China’s Smartphone Market For First Time: Report

Huawei, the Chinese tech firm that produces smartphones in addition to networking equipment, became the top seller of smartphones in China for the first time during the last quarter.

That’s according to data from research firm Canalys, which said that an 81 percent surge in sales year-on-year pushed Huawei past Xiaomi, which held the top spot during the previous quarter of business.

Canalys made the announcement as a precursor to the release of its full figures for Chinese smartphone sales in Q3 2015, so we don’t yet know where Apple, Samsung, or others rank for the three-month period. Crucially, nor do we have sales/marketshare figures. For example, it seems likely that Canalys is comparing sales-in figures for Huawei (i.e. channel and consumer sales) with sales-out (direct to consumers) for Xiaomi. A fair match, because that’s how they both do sales, but worth noting all the same.

Despite jumping the gun with a media release devoid of any details — it’s a little worrying to see that analyst firms are increasingly keen to beat each other to making big reveals without providing the workings behind their claims — Canalys believes that Xiaomi, which edged Samsung to become China’s biggest smartphone seller in 2014, is going through a tricky period on home soil.

Xiaomi claimed to have sold 61 million smartphones in China during 2014, but the firm is struggling to reach its goal of 80 million for this year — a figure that was reduced from an original target of 100 million — according to Canalys.

The company, which expanded to Latin America this summer, sold nearly 35 million phones during the first half of 2015, is “under tremendous pressure to keep growing as an international player as it is slowing down in its key home market,” said Canalys analyst Jessie Ding in a statement.

Xiaomi, for its part, told TechCrunch that the analysis could be down to timing:

“We just released Redmi Note 2 in mid August and Mi 4c in late September, which means our product lineup went through a transition period in Q3 2015, and we had to ramp up supply gradually to meet demand,” a spokesperson said.

Finally, TechCrunch understands that the gap between Xiaomi and Huawei’s figures — according to Canalys’s research — is not huge. So a change in leadership is more a testament to Huawei’s progress than any major crisis at Xiaomi. (Though let’s see if it can hit that sales target for 2015.)

Banned from selling networking gear to the U.S. government last year, Huawei’s consumer electronics business is taking off with a series of appealing devices. An Android smartwatch, a smartphone with an Apple-style 3D Touch feature, and the impressive Google Nexus-branded Nexus 6P are all fruits of its labor.

Comments

Peel Turns Your Apple Watch Into A Universal Remote Control

Does it make sense to use your Apple Watch as a remote control for your media devices? Smart remote maker Peel thinks so, having just launched a universal remote control application for the Apple Watch which lets you operate over 400,000 models of home electronics, including not only televisions, but also DVD players, and even audio and streaming devices, like the Roku. The Apple Watch app is actually an extension of the company’s existing smart remote app for iPhone . And while in a few cases the new Watch app will allow you to control your devices via Wi-Fi, for the most part, it will require the Pronto hardware just like the iPhone version does. The Pronto 360-degree IR blaster is what turns the iPhone, and now the Apple Watch, into a smart universal remote control. A $49.99 piece of hardware about the size of a salt shaker, Pronto sits in your entertainment center to provide the IR capabilities required to operate your TV and other electroni...

Barnes & Noble is killing itself

I’ve been chronicling the slow demise of B&N for years now, watching the company bleed out, drop by drop, until it has become a shell of its former value. B&N was a cultural center in places without cultural centers. It was a stopover on rainy days in New York, Chicago, and Cleveland and it was a place you could go to get your kids’ first books. That’s mostly over now. On Monday the company laid off 1,800 people. This offered a cost savings of $40 million. But that’s particularly interesting. That means each of those people made an average of $22,000 or so per year and minimum wage workers – hourly folks who are usually hit hardest during post-holiday downturns – would be making $15,000. In fact, what B&N did was fire all full time employees at 781 stores. From a former employee: On Monday morning, every single Barnes & Noble location told their full-time employees to pack up and leave. The eliminated positions were as follows: the head cashiers (those are the pe...

Intel announces the first 14 nanometre processor

At the Computex conference in Taipei, chipmaker Intel has revealed a fanless mobile PC reference design using the first of its next-generation 14nm "Broadwell" processors. The 2 in 1 pictured here is a 12.5" screen that is just 7.2 mm thick with keyboard detached and weighs 670 grams. The Surface Pro 3 – for comparison – is 9.1 mm thick and weighs 800 grams. It includes a media dock that provides additional cooling for a burst of performance. The next-generation chip is purpose-built for 2 in 1s and will hit the market later in 2014 . Called the Intel Core M, it will be the most energy-efficient Intel Core processor in the company's history with power usage cut by up to 45 percent, resulting in 60 percent less heat. The majority of designs based on this new chip are expected to be fanless, with up to 32 hours of battery life, offering both a lightning-fast tablet and razor-thin laptop. Intel is also delivering innovation and performance for the ...

What is your preferred smartphone screen size

Screen envy. We all have it. Or do we? See, that’s the thing, I’m just not so sure. One thing I am sure about is that our phone screens have gotten progressively bigger and bigger over the last few years. The funny thing is, we as a society have taken that ball and run with it, like we just don’t care. But I always thought we did care? Some time ago, when phones were in the sub-5” range, we used to have a term called “phablet” which described an almost absurdly big phone. The definition varied from person to person. I always considered a phone with a screen 5.5” or bigger to be a phablet. The Galaxy Note fell into that category. The Lumia 1520 certainly did. There are others as well. I was safely ensconced in the 4.5” area at the time with my Lumia 920. What did I know? Leon’s getting laaaaaaaarrrger But slowly, phones started topping the 5” mark. I’m not talking about phablets here, I’m talking about normal flagship phones – the Galaxy S4 (barely) and the HTC One (M7) are ...

Airbnb will open its Cuba listings to users outside the United States

Airbnb will now let travelers from outside the U.S. to book properties in Cuba after receiving authorization from the U.S. government, reports the Associated Press . Previously, only Americans were allowed to reserve the site’s Cuban listings . They will open to international users on April 2. Airbnb launched its Cuban operations in April 2014 , four months after the Obama administration revealed that it will begin to restore diplomatic relations with the Communist country . The historic policy change means that travel and trade sanctions will be lifted , which is expected to boost tourism to Cuba dramatically because Americans no longer need licenses to visit. In fact, President Obama is currently on an official visit to Cuba , the first president since Calvin Coolidge to do so. According to the AP, Cuba is currently Airbnb’s fastest-growing market, with about 4,000 homes added since it opened listings. Other travel businesses...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog