's semiconductor design company , HiSilicon, has surpassed Qualcomm to become the "number one" chip supplier in China, as COVID-19 has significantly impacted the smartphone and hurt the US company.
Huawei's HiSilicon unit shipped 22.21 million smartphone processors in the first quarter of 2020, according to a new report from CINNO Research. Huawei's HiSilicon managed to increase its market share to 43.9%, up from 24.3% in the first quarter of 2019.
CINNO Research, which tracks China, did not disclose specific figures for Qualcomm or other vendors, but said the U.S. company's market share fell to 32.8% from 48.1% last year.
HiSilicon designs chips under the Kirin that are built into Huawei smartphones. The semiconductors are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
HiSilicon’s growth in China confirms that Huawei has been increasingly focused on its domestic market since being blacklisted by the US last year. Because of this situation, Huawei cannot work with American companies and have access to American technology (e.g. Google’s Android operating system ). This exclusion may not have been significant for China, where Google services , such as Gmail, are already banned. However, it has significantly affected Huawei customers in other countries who rely on these services .
Huawei's share of the smartphone market has increased. In the first quarter of 2020, smartphone sales increased by 6% compared to last year, according to a report by Counterpoint Research. Huawei is also trying to reduce its dependence on American components, and smartphone chips are one of the most important items.
The company's growth in China has increased its share of the smartphone processor market. However, the Chinese company's growth has come at the expense of other domestic competitors, which are some of Qualcomm's key customers.
In August, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that Huawei's focus on the market China
Qualcomm sells chips to Huawei's domestic rivals, including Xiaomi and Oppo. Both companies saw their sales decline in 2019.
Of course, the overall smartphone market has weakened further since the coronavirus in most regions. In China, mobile phone sales have fallen sharply in recent months.
