news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

On July 25, a report released by market research firm Canalys showed that in the second quarter of this year, China's mainland smartphone market further recovered after experiencing a rebound in the previous quarter, with shipments increasing by 10% year-on-year, returning to the level of 70 million units.

Among all major manufacturers, vivo's shipments increased by 15% year-on-year, returning to the top of the Chinese market. Relying on its solid offline channels and its capture of the "618" e-commerce demand, its shipments reached 13.1 million units and its market share reached 19%, an increase of 1 percentage point year-on-year.

OPPO ranked second with 11.3 million units shipped thanks to the release of the Reno 12 series, with a market share of 16%, a year-on-year decline of 2 percentage points.

Honor released its new 200 series, ranking third with 10.7 million units shipped, a year-on-year increase of 4%, but its market share fell by 1 percentage point year-on-year to 15%.

Huawei has maintained a rapid recovery since the fourth quarter of last year, but slowed down in the second quarter of this year, with the growth rate of shipments falling from 70% in the first quarter to 41%. With 10.6 million units shipped, it ranked fourth with a market share of 15%.

Xiaomi boosted its brand exposure through the launch of the SU7 car. Its popular K70 series and flagship 14 series continued to maintain strong momentum, returning to the top five with 10 million units shipped and a year-on-year growth of 17%, with a market share of 14%.

Apple's shipment ranking dropped to sixth, and its market share fell 2% year-on-year, accounting for 14% of the market share.

It is worth mentioning that in the report released by TechInsights in the first quarter, Apple fell out of the top five with a market share of 13.7%. At that time, in Canalys' statistics, Apple ranked fifth with a share of 15%, and its shipments fell by 25%.

Then, on the eve of 618, Apple made the biggest price cut in history in China, but at present, the promotion still cannot prevent Apple from falling out of the top five.

Image source: Canalys

Amber Liu, research manager at Canalys, said that in the second quarter of this year, the Chinese market welcomed a long-awaited double-digit rebound, and the pace of recovery gradually approached the global level of 12% this quarter. However, from a macro perspective, the current overall consumption environment is still under pressure, and manufacturers are using more stimulus measures to catalyze market demand.

She believes that this year's "618" e-commerce shopping festival has become a highlight. Manufacturers and e-commerce platforms have started the promotion cycle earlier than in previous years and increased promotion efforts, which has promoted the recovery of demand to a certain extent. In terms of offline channels, manufacturers with ecosystem advantages such as Huawei and Xiaomi are continuing to deepen their offline channel layout and expand a wider network of channel partners to increase the sales value-added rate of their products including mobile phones, ecological equipment and automobiles.

Lucas Zhong, a research analyst at Canalys, added that local manufacturers have demonstrated their market leadership, taking the top five seats in the Chinese mainland market for the first time in history. In recent years, Chinese manufacturers have been firmly implementing their high-end strategy and deeply collaborating with local supply chain partners, which has gradually yielded results in both software and hardware. On the other hand, Apple is facing growth pressure in the Chinese market and is actively working to optimize channel management. After achieving healthy inventory, it strives to ensure the stability of retail prices while protecting the profit margins of channel partners.

"From a medium- to long-term perspective, China's high-end market has abundant opportunities. Chinese brands such as OPPO, Honor, and vivo are leading in consumer education and application of generative AI. The localization of Apple's Apple Intelligence service in the Chinese market will be key," he analyzed.

Canalys senior analyst Toby Zhu said that although the growth in the second quarter shows that the market is gradually returning to normal, the agency still expects a single-digit mild recovery in the Chinese market this year. Faced with an increasingly fierce competitive structure, healthy operations and breakthrough innovation will become the main theme of manufacturers in the second half of the year.

"Three major trends will affect the market landscape in the second half of the year. First, Huawei is about to bring consumers the Hongmeng native application ecosystem under HarmonyOS Next, creating a mobile phone operating system in addition to Android and iOS. Second, manufacturers are accelerating the construction of their own AI infrastructure, self-developed models and application ecosystems, using this as the core driving force for future competition. Finally, the fierce competition in the local market also highlights the urgency of manufacturers seeking overseas expansion. It is expected that Chinese brands will make new breakthroughs in overseas markets in 2024." he said.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.