Apple Likely to Overtake Huawei, Become the World’s Second Phone Maker

Apple is very likely to overtake Huawei and re-become the second largest phone market in the world, according to a new report.

Digitimes claims the switch of places could take place in the fourth quarter of 2019 and be the result of the strong demand for the new-generation iPhone coupled with the struggle that Huawei is trying to deal with following the latest US sanctions.

The United States government decided to ban Huawei from working with American companies back in mid-May, essentially blocking the Chinese tech giant from using software and hardware belonging to US-based firms.

This means Huawei can no longer use Android to power its devices, and this leads to a drop in worldwide sales.

Strong iPhone 11 sales expected this holiday

At the same time, Apple benefits from growing sales worldwide, mostly thanks to the new iPhone 11.

Launched in September, the new-generation iPhone comes in three different versions, namely iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The most affordable of them all is iPhone 11, which is the successor to iPhone XR and starts at $699 in the United States, a $50 price cut versus the model that it replaces. This particular iPhone is believed to be successful in a series of markets where mid-range Android devices previously got the lion’s share, including China and India.

While Apple no longer shares any iPhone sales data, fourth-quarter sales are expected to propel Apple back to the second place in the global manufacturer rankings, driven by strong demand for iPhone 11 recorded during the holiday season. On the other hand, the bigger challenge for Apple could be holding to the second spot in early 2020, as the first months of each year typically bring lower sales due to falling demand following the holiday season.