Global smartphone sales in 2019 to see a 3.1 percent dip due to Huawei ban: Canalys

The US government’s decision to ban companies from engaging in any business with Chinese tech giant Huawei will likely have greater repercussions on the global smartphone industry than was earlier thought. The latest analysis by reputed market intelligence firm, Canalys, forecasts a grim year for global smartphone sales with an estimated 3.1 percent decline compared to 2018. The team expects to see 1.35 billion units in sales volume which is slightly below last year’s 1.39 billion mark. The ban of sales of Huawei equipment to US companies and a similar measure keeping US firms from selling technology to Huawei without permission will cause a direct impact on sales, at the very least for Huawei’s devices. According to the latest forecast, the restrictions and other factors will have a negative effect on shipments for the remainder of the year. [caption id=“attachment_5660701” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] The Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Image: tech2/Omkar Patne[/caption] Things aren’t grim for everyone though. What may be construed as bad news for some brands could prove an opportunity for others, suggests the market intelligence firm — especially Samsung. Samsung stands to be the biggest winner in the wake of the ban on Huawei, Canalys suggests. This is has been attributed to Samsung’s “aggressive device strategy and its ability to quickly ramp up production,” while other vendors may not be able to take advantage of the shortfall until later in 2019.

"#Smartphone shipment forecast cut to 1.35 billion for 2019 as uncertainty prevails" - via @canalys https://t.co/Ukd08jRt5I #Huawei #Samsung #Google pic.twitter.com/ACwrfQsYLO

— Canalys (part of Omdia) (@Canalys) June 3, 2019

The expected decline in shipments isn’t all because of the US government’s Huawei ban. The market research company points out that another major factor here is the lack of substantial new features, something which is expected to change, come 2020 with the push in 5G. Canalys predicts a positive smartphone growth with an expected bounce back in 2020 to 1.39 billion shipments worldwide, equating to an increase of 3.4 percent.