Huawei’s decline is the worst thing that could happen to Samsung

HUAWEI has been subject to a trade embargo in the US for more than four years, resulting in the company losing access to key hardware suppliers, Google services, 5G connectivity (until recently), and more.

One major side effect was that HUAWEI fell from its position as number two in the world. However, the sanctions and subsequent decline of HUAWEI have not only affected Chinese brands. Regardless of what you think about this ban, it will also negatively impact other high-end products in the industry. In the absence of fierce competition, major companies like Samsung are content with the status quo.

HUAWEI was Samsung’s biggest rival before the US trade ban, and the two companies competed on a number of high-end products. Samsung’s Galaxy S series competed with the HUAWEI P series, and the Galaxy Note series beat the Mate series. Both companies were also part of the first wave of foldable smartphones in 2019.

I would even go so far as to say that before the US sanctions, HUAWEI was the most exciting flagship mobile phone manufacturer. The 2018 P20 Pro was a more innovative and feature-packed device than the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. I still maintain that the Mate 20 Pro, with its flexible triple cameras and quick charging, was more appealing than the conservative Galaxy Note 9.

Fast forward to 2024 and it feels like Samsung is cutting corners without Huawei doing its best to remain honest. This is despite warnings in 2019 that Korean brands cannot afford to be complacent. The Galaxy S24 series feels like a re-evaluation of the Galaxy S23 series, which was a small upgrade to his S22 series. Samsung’s recent foldables haven’t changed much since 2021, with the exception of the Galaxy Z Flip 5. You really have to wonder what the Galaxy manufacturers will do if they have to compete with the no-compromise P60 Pro or Mate X5 foldable offerings.

When it comes to the Mate X5, it seems like Samsung is still feeling the influence of HUAWEI, even if the Chinese brand isn’t in a position to seriously challenge it. A South Korean news outlet reported that Samsung employees actually reverse engineered the Mate X5 to find out how HUAWEI managed to pack a large battery into such a slim form factor.

It’s not just Samsung that’s been negatively affected by HUAWEI’s downturn, but the high-end Android situation as well. HUAWEI had grown rapidly in the years before the trade ban, stealing second place from Apple and creating a significant gap with the iPhone maker. This manufacturer has even set itself the goal of overtaking Samsung and taking the number one position.

Then came the trade ban, and HUAWEI’s market share fell, but due to the timing of the coronavirus outbreak, it briefly gained the number one position. This will give you an idea of ​​the current situation. Apple has overtaken Samsung for the first time in 10 years to become the top smartphone manufacturer in 2023.

Well, there are big reasons for Apple to climb the charts, including a strong US market driven by young people and iMessage. However, HUAWEI was clearly on an upward trajectory even before the sanctions and was distancing itself from Apple. That doesn’t mean the Chinese brand would have been a strong number one in 2024, but it would certainly have been a difficult challenge for Apple to overcome.

After all, this was the first smartphone brand to offer many of the features that are now considered flagship staples. Night mode, AI silicon in smartphone chipsets, 10x cameras in traditional form factors, reverse wireless charging, etc. HUAWEI was offering it all years ago. The company was also a pioneer in mobile camera quality, first offering today’s flexible triple rear camera setup, a periscope camera, the RYYB camera sensor for improved low-light performance, and a monochrome camera. It’s hard to argue that the Android ecosystem wouldn’t have become significantly healthier if HUAWEI remained a major global player.

Don’t get me wrong. High-end Android smartphones have improved in many ways in recent years. Samsung and Google have led the industry with their seven years of software updates, OPPO and Xiaomi offer cutting-edge camera experiences, and Sony continues to offer an unparalleled approach to enthusiast-level photography. .

Additionally, there are specific innovations we’ve seen in flagship Android smartphones over the past few years. Camera sensor race culminates with Xiaomi and Sony’s 1-inch IMX989, Google debuts generative AI editing on the Pixel 8 series, and Samsung’s ever-expanding Good Lock module brings unprecedented levels of intuitive customization Now, the BBK brand offers longer-lasting batteries than ever before. We have also witnessed the evolution of flip phones into the nearly wrinkle-free, water-resistant phones of today.

Despite all these innovations, rival manufacturers have had varying degrees of success in replacing HUAWEI in stores and carriers.

Xiaomi is probably the biggest beneficiary of this situation. The company is consistently his third most popular brand in terms of global shipments, mainly due to the success of its cheap mobile phones. However, according to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi still lags behind HUAWEI in the premium ($600+) segment. Of all premium phones shipped in 2023, Xiaomi accounted for only 2%, compared to HUAWEI’s 5% (mainly due to HUAWEI’s performance in China). This is despite Xiaomi’s attempts to turn its mainline flagships into full-fledged premium products and the introduction of its hyper-premium Ultra series.

OPPO and vivo are two other brands that should have benefited from this situation. In fact, OPPO ranked fourth in the world in terms of shipments in 2023. Both brands offer some attractive luxury phones, but vivo’s clumsy global launch strategy and OPPO’s ban on sales in Europe have left consumers outside of China without many solid luxury phones. Being deprived of choices. It also doesn’t help that these companies only offer mid-range phones in some markets.

One of the lesser-known beneficiaries is HONOR. His previous HUAWEI sub-brand was separated in his 2020, and overall he is closer to official HUAWEI in terms of software and hardware. The company is not among the top five in the world. Still, significant progress has been made in countries such as China (2nd place in 2023), South Africa (2nd place in Q3 2023), and several countries in the Middle East (5th place in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE). However, it is too early to tell whether HONOR can maintain this growth and truly pick up where HUAWEI left off.

Regardless of the pros and cons of banning HUAWEI, the sanctions unfortunately contributed to Samsung’s complacency. It’s also clear that other major mobile phone brands haven’t been able to fit into Huawei’s expensive shoes.

This opened the door for Apple to take the world number one spot. Let’s hope that with Apple’s performance, Samsung and other manufacturers will do everything in their power to make flagship phones exciting again. That’s because, despite Huawei’s impressive resilience through tough times, it’s definitely no longer in a position to challenge Apple.