Huawei likely replaced Samsung as the world's top smartphone maker from April through June, according to cn.nikkei.com on Wednesday.

Affected by the global expansion of COVID-19, shipments of Samsung's smartphones are expected to drop about 30 percent from April through June, while a slight shrink in Huawei shipments is predicted, Nikkei said.

As per Samsung's fiscal report from April to June, its operating profit stood at 8.1 trillion won ($6.78 billion), up 23 percent year-on-year, but operation revenue was down 7 percent to 52 trillion yuan.

SK Securities estimated from April through June, Huawei shipments stood at 55 million while Samsung's was 51 million, which means Huawei may for the first time be crowned No 1 in smartphone shipments.