Huawei is nearing the milestone of one billion active consumer devices. The company's aggressive expansion comes amid facing US sanctions, directly challenging tech giant Apple, particularly in the critical Chinese market.
According to Bloomberg, Huawei now boasts around 900 million devices equipped with its in-house Harmony OS, a substantial increase from just a few months ago.
This growth is driven by the surge in sales of Huawei's premium smartphones, which climbed 72% in the first five months of 2024.
BARCELONA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 28: A logo sits illuminated outside the Huawei booth at the SK telecom booth on day 1 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress on February 28, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. by David Ramos/Getty Images
How Premium Phone Releases Boosted Huawei
Richard Yu, the consumer business Chairman of Huawei, attributed the success to the company's flagship Mate 60 Pro. This model features a 7-nanometer processor, a technological feat that US officials had previously believed to be beyond the reach of Chinese firms.
The Mate 60 Pro's success has been a key factor in Huawei's ability to more than quintuple its profit during the March quarter, capturing market share from both Apple and other Chinese competitors.
Looking ahead, Huawei plans to release a successor to the Mate 60 Pro, the Mate 70, by the end of the year. This new model is expected to run on HarmonyOS Next, which aims to fully sever ties with Google's Android.
The company has integrated HarmonyOS into a variety of products, including watches and TVs. In the first quarter, Huawei shipped approximately 11 million wearables, surpassing Samsung, according to IDC.
Canalys data highlights that HarmonyOS has become the second-largest mobile operating system in China, with a market share of 17.95% in the first quarter of 2024, up from just 6.5% in 2022. This places it ahead of Apple's iOS, which holds about 14.8% of the market.
Bloomberg reports that the company is also exploring ways to monetize HarmonyOS more aggressively, such as taking a cut of in-app purchases. This move reflects Huawei's growing confidence in competing directly with the iPhone, though it is likely to exclude significant platforms like Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s WeChat.
On the AI front, Huawei is making notable progress with its Ascend GPU. Yu claimed these processors are 1.1 times more effective in training AI models compared to mainstream offerings.
Meanwhile, Huawei has officially entered the GenAI smartphone market with the launch of the Pura 70 series and its AI image eraser feature.
Huawei's Strong Grip on the Chinese Market
Counterpoint Research notes that China's smartphone sales grew 1.5% year-over-year and 4.6% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2024, marking the second consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth.
Huawei stood out as the quarter's best performer, enjoying a 69.7% year-over-year growth, while Apple's sales dropped 19.1% year-over-year, largely due to Huawei's resurgence in the premium segment.
