Huawei smartphone shipments dramatically fall after U.S. ban takes effect

Huawei previously topped the smartphone shipments record, but it is now experiencing difficulties as the U.S. ban takes effect. In fact, the Chinese mobile maker was the no. 1 in shipments record, but as the sanctions bite, it had slid down to no. 6.

The plunging sales record

CNBC reported that Huawei is now the sixth-largest smartphone maker and trailing behind its rivals, including Vivo and Oppo. with its new position in the ranking, it is now far behind Samsung and Apple.

This happened after the Chinese company’s mobile phone shipments have plummeted by a lot. Based on the reports, the number went down by 41%, which is almost half of its usual record.

It was said that Huawei’s sales continue to go down since the U.S. sanctions ordered by Donald Trump took effect. The company is now struggling to keep up with its big rivals in the world, including Apple.

The Chinese tech giant only delivered 33 million smartphone units in the last quarter of last year. This is effectively 41% less than the previous year. It was added that this is the first time that Huawei was not listed in the top 5 in six years.

“Huawei has always been committed to innovation and devoted to creating more value for consumers with better products,” Huawei said in a statement regarding the shipment plunge. “Over the last year, our smartphone business has developed robustly, and tablets, PC and wearable have seen significant growth thus we remain confident about the future.”

The sanction on Huawei - will it be lifted?

The U.S., under the Trump administration, banned Huawei and other Chinese companies from entering the American market. It cited national security as the main reason for the sanction and alleging that such companies are supporting the Chinese military.

Now, will Huawei be able to do business and release its units again in the U.S.? Even with the new president, it seems that the ban will stay after the new Biden administration recently vowed to protect the US telecoms network from Huawei security threats.

As per Reuters, Joe Biden stressed that his administration will work to shield the American telecoms from "untrusted vendors" such as Huawei. "Telecommunications equipment made by untrusted vendors, including Huawei, is a threat to the security of the U.S. and our allies," Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said. Meanwhile, Huawei declined to comment regarding Biden’s new declaration.