This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
October 23, 2019 - Huawei has reached a significant milestone, shipping 200 million smartphones this year, marking a remarkable achievement in the face of escalating trade tensions with the United States.
According to the company, it has achieved this milestone 64 days faster than it did last year, when it shipped 206 million smartphones, crossing the 200 million mark for the first time.
Ren Zhengfei, Huawei's founder, had set an ambitious target of shipping 270 million smartphone units this year, a goal that appears to be within reach given the company's growth in recent years.
However, the US-China trade war has complicated Huawei's efforts, with the company facing a clampdown by the US government on China-related entities. As a result, Huawei's latest products, such as the Huawei Mate 30 series, have entered the market without Google services, a core part of the Android experience for smartphone users outside China.
Despite these challenges, Huawei has managed to ship 185 million smartphone units by the end of Q3 2019, representing a year-on-year increase of 26%. The company has also announced other milestones, including shipping 100 million smartphone units by May 30th and 118 million units in the first half of 2019.
To celebrate the 200 million smartphone shipments milestone, Huawei has launched a commemorative edition of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G, available for order from November 1st in China for 1,000 Euros (over Kshs 115,000 by current exchange rates).
