Global sales of smartphones to end users continued to fall in the third quarter (Q3) of 2019, contracting by 0.4 per cent compared with Q3 of 2018, as demand remained weak because consumers became more concerned about getting value for money, a new report by Gartner Inc. said on Tuesday.
While the ban on Huawei to access key US technologies is yet to be fully implemented as a three-month extension was just announced, the proposed ban brought negativity around Huawei’ brand in the international market. Nevertheless, Huawei’s strong ecosystem in China continued to show growth. The current situation with the US has also fostered patriotism among its partners, which are now keener to promote its smartphones in China — a development that makes it difficult for local competitors to compete aggressively against Huawei.
