Apple and Samsung have pretty much solidified their position atop the American mobile market for life, but the number three spot is transitory. While that third-place spot is currently occupied by LG, that may change in the near future if Huawei has its way. The company has been developing a solid reputation in the West, which is difficult for Chinese companies to do, and it’s confident that it can replace its South Korean rival as the third most popular smartphone manufacturer in the United States.
Move over Samsung, Apple and Lenovo: Huawei has the U.S. mobile device market squarely in mind and plans to be a “top three” brand here. That’s according to Huawei’s President of USA devices, Zhiqiang Xu, speaking in an interview with Greenbot on Tuesday. The company has already made a name for itself in its home country of China, where you might be surprised that it sold more smartphones around the world than Xiaomi in 2014, based on Gartner’s data. The research firm estimates that Huawei sold 68 million smartphones last year, with sales of 21 million in the final quarter, as compared to Xiaomi’s 18.5 million phone sold. In the U.S., Huawei has yet to gain a foothold selling its Android phones, mainly because carriers have controlled the market for so long, Xu alludes. Thanks to a change from heavily subsidized phones sold with lengthy contracts to fewer long-term commitments and full priced handsets, Xu thinks his company has a chance. Even so, Huawei will need some type of carrier support.
