Huawei surpassed Apple in the smartphone market in the second quarter of 2018, making it the world's second largest smartphone maker for the first time. Huawei accounted for 15.8% of the global market, compared with Apple's 12.1%. Huawei's global position in smartphone sales is a turning point, with 54.2m units of its smartphones being shipped and delivered, with a market share of 15.8%. It also posted an annual growth rate of 41%, surpassing two other global brands in the sector during the same period last year. The company also ranked second in terms of smartphone sales in the Middle East and Africa, outpacing Apple in this region, according to a GFK report for May 2018. The smartphone manufacture's market share in the Middle East and Africa reached 21%, realising a growth of 31.25% against December 2017. The growth of the market share of the company within the countries of the region exceeded 20%, which included the regions of the Levant by 37.4%, Oman by 30%, Saudi Arabia by 27%, Iraq by 25%, Egypt by 24%, Pakistan by 22.2%, and the United Arab Emirates by 20%. Huawei is proud to be leading the innovation efforts in the smartphone sector, as it is now the sixth largest company in terms of spending on R&D activities. It has spent $45bn over the past 10 years to support these activities, and has invested $12bn in the past year to support R&D. The company's efforts have yielded very positive results, with its innovative products attracting many prestigious international awards. In addition, Huawei has been shaping a new phase of innovations in the smartphone industry since its use of the Kirin 970 processor, the first processor in the world powered by artificial intelligence capabilities, on its various phones. One of the highlights of the company is the launch of the Huawei P20 Pro, the world's first 40-megapixel camera, powered by the most advanced artificial intelligence technology, and many unique features to capture the best professional images at night. The Huawei P20 Pro has seen a strong turnout in the smartphones sector. The company shipped and delivered more than 6m units of this phone to all over the world, just a few months after its launch. Huawei recently announced the launch of the Huawei Nova 3 series of phones, which is proof of the strength and excellence of the company in the middle-class phone market. The Huawei Nova 3 and Huawei Nova 3i feature a dual 24-megapixel front camera and 2 megapixels supported by the finest artificial intelligence, ensuring consumers get the best selfie images by boosting faces in portrait mode, next to applying AI beauty to get best results. Huawei continues to emphasise its strong commitment to innovation and customer service with the launch of its revolutionary GPU Turbo technology to accelerate the performance of gaming processing units, allowing users to easily upgrade their phones and enjoy a much-improved experience, especially when using games. Huawei recently announced that it was listed for the second consecutive year in Forbes' list of the world's highest value brands, becoming the only Chinese company on the list in 2018. The company continues to introduce the latest innovations that are captivating and attractive to consumers, reflecting the company's high profile and proximity to the leadership of the smartphone industry.
