Research firm Gartner said Tuesday that Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the second-largest provider of smartphones globally, edging out Apple in market share for the first time ever. Gartner’s findings come from Q2 2018 worldwide smartphone sales, and note that Huawei’s sales grew 38.6 percent in the quarter, compared to modest 0.9 percent growth from Apple. Worldwide leader Samsung saw sales decline 12.7 percent over the same period. The Federal government has warned against using technology from Huawei, due to perceived supply chain risks and the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese government. Top intelligence officials in February told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Americans should not buy phones from the Chinese company. The recently-passed FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act bars Federal agencies from contracting with companies that use Huawei products. The company has denied that it poses risks to the U.S. supply chain, saying policies such as those in the NDAA “will only serve to stifle innovation.”
