Honor smartphones to have 2% share in 2021

The Honor smartphone brand will own only 2% market share in terms of shipment in 2021, according to market research firm TrendForce.

Huawei’s market share is expected to drop from 14% this year to 4% in 2021, the research firm also said.

The Chinese tech giant is having difficult procuring key components for smartphones from US sanctions against it that went into effect in September. Last month, Huawei announced that it was selling Honor to a company with ties to the government.

The vacuum left by the two brands is expected to be divided among other smartphone brands.

Xiaomi is expected to see its market share increase from 12% to 14% next year. Oppo’s share in the same time period will also increase from 12% to 14%; Vivo will see its share increase from 9% to 11%. 

TrendForce said Honor, besides US sanctions, faced difficulty from the lack of production capacity of foundry companies. Wafers for power management IC and display driver IC, used with mobile application processors, were in short supply, the research firm said.

Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have set-up aggressive production schedule for smartphones, which will tighten the supply chain. Honor will only be able to procure components stably starting in the second half of 2021.

Honor will also no longer be able to use chips made by HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei, due to US sanctions.