Huawei overtakes Apple, becomes 2nd biggest smartphone maker in the world
Huawei Technologies Co. overtook Apple Inc. to claim the No. 2 spot in smartphones in the first quarter, moving a step closer to its avowed ambition of displacing Samsung at the top of the market. The networking giant, shrugging off a barrage of accusations that it aids Chinese espionage (which it’s repeatedly denied), grew shipments 50 percent from a year earlier, research firm IDC estimates. It was the only name in the top 4 that managed to expand volumes as the overall market slid for the sixth consecutive quarter. Huawei’s been steadily gaining on Apple and Samsung Electronics Co with an increasingly high-end line-up of devices, particularly in its home market of China. The iPhone maker this week projected quarterly sales that topped analysts’ estimates, suggesting demand for iPhones has stabilized after a disappointing holiday period. Samsung also enjoyed a spike compared with the fourth quarter thanks to the launch of the marquee S10 range in February. IDC reckons Huawe