Telecom
Huawei Overtakes Apple for the Second Position on Global Smartphone Market
International Data Corporation (IDC) preliminary data for Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, shows that smartphone vendors shipped a total of 342.0 million units during the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18), resulting in a 1.8% decline when compared to the 348.2 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2017.
The drop marks the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines for the global smartphone market and only the fourth quarter of decline in history.
IDC believes this is the result of churn in some highly penetrated markets, although many high growth markets still exist and should return smartphone shipments to overall growth.
The arrival of Huawei in the second position marks the first quarter since 2Q10 where Apple has not been the number one or two smartphone company in terms of market share.
Huawei delivered shipments of 54.2 million units to move into the second position with a record high market share of 15.8%.
Samsung maintained a comfortable lead, although indications from its recent 2Q18 earnings call suggest its mobile division revenues will face challenges moving forward.
Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said “The continued growth of Huawei is impressive, to say the least, as is its ability to move into markets where, until recently, the brand was largely unknown,”
“It is worth noting that Apple moved into the top position each of the last two holiday quarters following its product refresh, so it’s likely we’ll see continued movement among the top ranked companies in 2018 and beyond.
“For most markets, the ultra-high end ($700+) competition is largely some combination of Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, depending on the geography, and this is unlikely to change much in the short term.
“At the same time, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo are all slowly pushing their customer base upstream at a price tier slightly lower than the top three.
“This is an area they should all watch closely as the builds in this segment are getting increasingly more advanced.”
Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said “The combination of market saturation, increased smartphone penetration rates, and climbing ASPs continue to dampen the growth of the overall market.”
“Consumers remain willing to pay more for premium offerings in numerous markets and they now expect their device to outlast and outperform previous generations of that device which cost considerably less a few years ago.
“To contest this slowdown, vendors will need to focus on new innovative features and form factors combined with incentives and promotions to drive growth in many of these highly competitive markets moving forward.”
Highlight of smartphone companies shows that Samsung once again remained the leader in the worldwide smartphone market despite a 10.4% decline in shipments from last year.
The flagship S9/S9+, which launched late in the first quarter, witnessed slower than normal sales according to Samsung.
Samsung claims the slowdown is due to both intensified competition at the high end and an overall sluggish smartphone market.
The Korean giant will look to bolster sales in the coming weeks as we await the arrival of the new Galaxy Note 9.
The new Note will be unveiled on August 9th and is expected to launch earlier than the Note 8 to gain a foothold ahead of pending fall launches from Apple and others.
The device is expected to feature a bigger battery, new S-Pen capabilities, and increased performance.
Huawei surpassed Apple for the first time to move into the second position based on global market share.
It continues to lead the China smartphone market with a record-high market share of 27.0% in 2Q18.
In the first half of this quarter, Huawei’s P20/P20 Pro series found strong demand in the $600-$800 price segment, helping Huawei build a high profile in the market.
In the second half, with the release of its “GPU Turbo” technology, Huawei continued to earn a good reputation. 618 promotions led to strong sales for Honor models in the online channels as the Honor brand continues to be a key driver of growth for the Chinese tech giant.
Apple dropped to the third spot for the first time despite its second quarter growth.
Apple shipped 41.3 million iPhones, representing modest growth of 0.7% over the 41.0 million units shipped last year.
The iPhone continued to perform well at the high end as the iPhone X remains a top seller in many markets.
Apple will look to regain control of the market this fall with the expected launch of three next generations of iPhone models.
The new models are rumored to bring different screens sizes, price points, increased performance, and new features to the table when they arrive next quarter.
Xiaomi has pulled ahead of Samsung for the number 1 position in India over the past few quarters and has now closed the gap with Samsung in Indonesia as it ramped up its local production to address the increased demand during Ramadhan period, while also expanding its online channel presence and opening up more Mi home stores in the country.
OPPO faced a slowdown in key markets like India and most of Southeast Asia as it eased back on its aggressive marketing and sales activities in the region.
Despite this, the company still managed to grow 5.1% over last year as it continued its expansion into other markets such as the Middle East & Africa.
The recent launch of the Find X has also garnered Oppo some praise as the innovative, bezel-less and notch-less design has grabbed the attention of many.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables are estimated to have cost Nigeria’s telecom industry almost N27bn ($23m) in 2023, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show.
On Feb. 28, a cut in its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company, and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than N11bn —enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines in areas without coverage.
Broadband fibre optic cables form the backbone of modern communication infrastructure, enabling the high-speed data transmission that underpins a wide range of personal, business, and societal activities.
On several occasions, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator, has acknowledged this challenge and expressed willingness to work on measures to address it.
These measures include stricter regulations to deter vandalism and improved collaboration between telcos and government agencies responsible for construction activities.
According to the NCC, the telecom sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5 per cent in the third quarter of last year.
Isa Pantami, former minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has voiced his discontent over the relaunch of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) by Bosun Tijani, his successor.
Isa Pantami, former minister of Communications and Digital Economy,
Tijani announced the revitalization of NCAIR, highlighting enhancements in its capacity and partnerships with global tech firm Cisco.
However, Pantami took to social media to assert that NCAIR was already established during his tenure in November 2020, dubbing it “the first of its kind in Africa” and emphasizing its effectiveness in training numerous Nigerians.
Tijani responded by detailing the new initiatives accompanying the relaunch, including increased computing infrastructure, dedicated research labs, and remote connectivity for AI hubs across the country. He also unveiled outcomes from the Ministry’s National AI Workshop, such as the country’s first Multilingual Large Language Model and partnerships aimed at accelerating AI development projects of national significance.
The exchange between Pantami and Tijani underscores ongoing efforts to advance AI research and application in Nigeria while navigating questions of continuity and leadership transition within the Ministry.
This year’s Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership lecture will focus on the role of artificial intelligence in a digital economy with the theme: “Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”.
The lecture which will herald Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Awards hold on May 25, 2024 at Four Points by Sheraton.
The sixteenth edition of the award ceremony according Ken Nwogbo, editor-in-chief of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek the organizers of the event, “is a special edition to recognize and celebrate organizations and individuals in the ICT industry that have been distinguished in delivery innovative services in the sector.
“Most of these organizations and individuals have consistently being voted by our readers as leaders in their areas of operations and we have decided to reward them in this especial edition”.
He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.
“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth.
“However, unlike traditional machines, which replaced the use of human and animal labor for simple manual work and heavy or dangerous activities, AI-related inputs may change the type of human work in a comprehensive way.
“In contrast to previous industrial revolutions, AI does not simply involve the invention of a new machine or technology. Instead, AI has similarities to the accumulation of human capital, as it can learn and accumulate knowledge by itself,” he said.
The Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture is designed to explore efforts to put Nigeria on the global Information and Communications Technologies map.
The lecture series however is reserved for distinguished achievers in the ICT sector.
Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.
Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; among others.
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