Global Smartphone Shipments Continue to Decline; Huawei Bucks Trend

Global smartphone shipments declined in Q2, though shipments by Huawei increased, despite U.S. pressure, IHS Markit said Tuesday. This is the seventh quarter of year-over-year declines. Worldwide smartphone shipments slipped to 331.2 million units in Q2, a decline of 3.6 percent from the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the IHS Markit Smartphone Intelligence Service. Four brands among the top-10 -- Samsung Electronics, Huawei, OPPO and TCL Alcatel -- had growth, the report said. "Huawei [has] been able to weather the storm so far,” said Jusy Hong, IHS research and analysis director: “Huawei was able to replace falling international shipments with increased sales in China. However, the full effects of the ban likely will be felt by Huawei’s international business in the third quarter of this year.”