Huawei sold around 240 million phones in 2019, compared to the 197 million sold by the American company Apple. Thus, the Chinese company Huawei ranks second in the world, after Samsung, which sold 295 million smartphones, according to Business Insider.
The situation is a real triumph for Huawei, given that the new smartphones are not allowed to run Android applications in the Google Play Store. The company has been banned from using Google's mobile services in May 2019, which comes from the Google Play Store, the online store where users can download the apps they want.
Chinese smartphone users have rallied behind Huawei in 2019, and the company's smartphone sales have risen amid the Trump administration's trade war with China.
US sanctions against Huawei have had no effect on Chinese smartphone users, as the Google Play Store has not been available in China since 2010, and Chinese app developers have made their own highly popular alternative products, such as the social networking platform. Weibo, the e-commerce application TaoBao and "Netflix from China", IQIYI.
Although US sanctions against Huawei do not affect the Chinese market too much, they have had an impact on foreign markets where Huawei phones are also available. Even so, the Chinese company still sold more phones than Apple.
Against the backdrop of sales results, Huawei seems to be consolidating its solutions. The company said it will not return to using Google's mobile services and the Google Play Store, even if the US ban is lifted.
The company plans to continue developing its own app store, announcing that it will invest $ 3 billion in 2020.