A new analytical report from research firm Counterpoint Research China, shows Huawei's Hongmeng  HarmonyOS edging out Apple's iOS for the first time in the Chinese market in Q1-24. It must be said that this is within a margin of error when it's this close, especially when only one source makes this claim.    

 

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Counterpoint's data shows that Huawei's HarmonyOS's market share in China has increased from 8% in the first quarter of 2023 to 17% in the first quarter of 2024, while iOS's share has dropped from 20% to 16%. This also marks the first first quarter decline in iOS in the Chinese market since the first quarter of 2019, mainly due to Huawei's launch of 5G smartphones that directly compete with Apple.

In terms of global mobile phone system market share, Android and iOS both fell by 1% year-on-year, with shares of 77% and 19% respectively; Huawei's HarmonyOS's global share doubled from 2% year-on-year to 4% .

Lastly, the report stated that Hauwei's HarmonyOS's 5G adoption rate reached 50% in the first quarter of 2024 , up from 9% in the first quarter of 2023. As Huawei focuses on localizing its supply chain, this proportion is expected to grow further.

With statistics, there's always the risk of a margin of error. Case in point: A Smartphone report by Canalys on March 27 had Huawei at 17% market share while Apple was at 15%. Yet a Counterpoint report on April 23 showed Apple at 15.7% market share and Huawei at 15.5%. Based on Counterpoint's own report on April 23, how could Huawei's Harmony OS for smartphones now be 1% point ahead of Apple's iOS?