Sanctions from the US lead to the fall of ZTE
It was reported earlier that ZTE was feeling the heat from the US. If you are unfamiliar with this story, the US have prevented any US company from providing any form of hardware or software support to ZTE. This was because of several violations including supplying Iran with US exports.
As a result of the sanctions ZTE has been forced to shut down. Not being able to sell in the US and losing Google’s Android support made the phones useless. ZTE has became the 4th largest smartphone brand in the US. And a large percent of the phones relied on Qualcomm chips to power the phone. ZTE going out of business will effect other companies but it do leave the door for another company to fill that void.
Who will take their place
Where Apple and Samsung stood on top of the smartphone mountain, ZTE quietly became the budget smartphone that people gravitated toward. A staple in the display for people wanting free or cheap smartphones on their T-Mobile plan, ZTE phones were the phone for those not wanting to pay Apple/Samsung like prices for a phone.
This action by the US resulting in ZTE failing is expected to result in challenges for the US-China trade agreement negotiations. But as far as smartphone users they will gravitate to another smartphone manufacturer. Companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola, and One Plus are some of the companies looking to fill the space left by ZTE. And when you also take into account Samsung and LG also make budget phones, customers will still have a number of options to choose from.
