U.S. Pressure Hasn't Stopped Huawei Growth Yet

After years of explosive growth, global smartphone shipments declined for the second consecutive year in 2018. That negative trend continued in the second quarter of 2019, when global smartphone sales declined by 1.7 percent according to Gartner. The market research company attributes the continued weakness to slowing innovation in flagship smartphones, rising prices and, as a consequence of the former two, longer replacement cycles.

Meanwhile Huawei continues to defy the pressure from the U.S. and elsewhere and saw its sales increase by a solid 16.5 percent compared to the second quarter of 2018. Explaining this feat, Gartner's report says: "While its smartphone sales total was weaker globally, strong promotion and brand positioning helped Huawei sell a record number of smartphones in Greater China in the quarter, growing 31% in the region."