China’s 5G smartphone shipment is about to reach 140 million units in 2020, and all new models released by major manufacturers in the Chinese market will be 5G mobile phones, according to Counterpoint Research.
Smartphone market Q3 2020
In Q3 2020, worldwide smartphone shipments reached 348.0 million units, at a 1% decline year on year (but up 22% in Q2), according to Canalys.
Samsung regained the lead, up 2% to 80.2 million units. Huawei slipped into second place with a 23% fall to 51.7 million units. Xiaomi took third place for the first time, reaching 47.1 million units with 45% growth.
Apple, which had no flagship iPhone launch in September, shipped 43.2 million, down 1%, while Vivo completed the top five, shipping 31.8 million units. Oppo came sixth, with 31.1 million units, while its sister brand Realme moved into seventh, its highest ever position, with 15.1 million units.
Lenovo reported 10.2 million units, as it finally caught up with orders delayed due to disruption at its Wuhan factory, and Transsion shipped 8.4 million units as recovery started in its key African markets.
Xiaomi added 14.5 million units and Huawei lost 15.1 million. In Europe, a key battleground, Huawei’s shipments fell 25%, while Xiaomi’s grew 88%.
China smartphone market
The smartphone market in mainland China declined 8% QoQ in Q3, and 15% YoY, to reach 83 million units. Huawei, while still the leader, saw its volume decline in China for the first time, shipping only 34.2 million units in Q3 2020.
Huawei’s market share declined to 41.2%, from 44.3% in Q2 2020, and 42.5% in Q3 2019. Vivo and Oppo maintained second and third place but also declined by 13% and 18% YoY. Vivo’s market share increased slightly to 18.4% from 18% a year ago.
Oppo’s market share dropped to 16.8% from 17.4% a year ago.
Xiaomi, in fourth place, as the only vendor achieved growth, with a 19% year-on-year growth and a market share of 12.6% to ship 10.5 million units and narrowed its gap with the top three.
iPhone’s share of China smartphone market dropped slightly to 21.6% in September 2020.
Apple shipped 5.1 million iPhones, down 1% compared to last year, while it dropped 34% QoQ as the inventory of old models cleared to leave space for the iPhone 12 in Q4. Its market share grew to 6.2% in Q3 2020 from 5.3% in Q3 2019.
Canalys forecasts, moving forwards, iPhone 12 series will be a game-changer for Apple in mainland China. As most smartphones in China are now 5G-capable, Apple is closing a critical gap, and pent-up demand for its new 5G-enabled family will be strong.
H1 2020
China’s domestic mobile phone shipments were 28.63 million in June 2020, down 16.6% year-over-year (YoY). 47 new models were released in the month, up 23.7% YoY.
The total domestic mobile phone shipments were 153 million in the first half of 2020, down 17.7% YoY; and, the number of new phone models was 216, down 12.2% YoY.
5G Mobile Phones
China’s domestic 5G mobile phone shipments were 17.513 million in June according to China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and represented 61.2% of the total shipments.
24 new 5G models were released in June, accounting for 51.1% of the total new models released in the month.
5G smartphones are thriving with 39 million units shipped in China in Q2 2020, up 260% from Q1, according to Canalys.
Counterpoint points out that 5G shipments have increased the average price of smartphones. In Q2, the average selling price (ASP) of global smartphone market still increased by 10% while China’s mobile phone market rose the highest, reaching 13%, with an average sales price of $310.
5G mobile phone shipments were 63.597 million units in H1 2020, and the total number of new models was 105.
Local and Global Brands of Mobile Phones
The domestic brands of mobile phone shipments were 27.28 million in June 2020, down 16.5% YoY, accounting for 95.3% of the total shipments.
The number of new models released by the local brands was 46, up 24.3% YoY, and represented 97.9% of the total number of new models released in the month.
Smartphones
June smartphone shipments were 27.706 million, down 16.6% YoY, and accounted for 96.8% of the total shipments in the month. Over the past 6 months, smartphone shipments were 149 million, down 16.1% YoY, and represented 97.3% of the total shipments.
In June, 36 new smartphone models were released in China, up 33.3% YoY, and accounted for 76.6%. In H1, 167 new smartphone models were released, down 13% YoY, and accounted for 77.3% of all new models.
The smartphone market in mainland China posted 25% quarter-on-quarter growth to reach over 90 million sell-in units in Q2 2020 according to Canalys, despite the market contracting 7% compared to Q2 2019.
Huawei led its home market, shipping 40.2 million units in Q2 2020, and extending its market share to a whopping 44%. Vivo and Oppo maintained second and third place, growing 23% and 16% sequentially.
Xiaomi, in fourth place, shipped 9.3 million units with 21% quarter on quarter growth. Apple shipped 7.7 million iPhones in Q2, posting the fastest growth among the top five, at 25% sequentially and 35% annually, driven by rising online sales and its lower priced portfolio.
Smartphone Sales Volume Market Share
Huawei reached its record market share by total sales volume in the second quarter of 2020 in China’s smartphone market, followed by Vivo, Oppo, Apple, and Xiaomi.
Huawei, Oppo/Vivvo, and Xiaomi occupy 96% of China’s 5G smartphone market in Q2 2020. Huawei is the leader in 5G smartphone sales with 60% market share, followed by vivo, oppo and Xiaomi.
Top Smartphone Models
The top five smartphones sold in the Chinese market in the second quarter are iPhone 11, OPPO A8, Honor 9X, VIVO Y3, and Huawei Mate 30 5G. Among them, only iPhone 11 and Huawei Mate 30 5G can be regarded as flagship phones, and their rankings are first and fifth respectively.
It can be seen that the iPhone is still very attractive to domestic users.
Global Smartphone Market
Huawei shipped more smartphones worldwide than any other vendor for the first time in Q2 2020, according to Canalys. It marks the first quarter in nine years that a company other than Samsung or Apple has led the market.
Huawei shipped 55.8 million devices, down 5% year on year, followed by Samsung who shipped 53.7 million smartphones, a 30% decrease YoY. Its overseas shipments fell 27% in Q2 while its Chinese shipments increased by 8% in Q2; it now sells over 70% of its smartphones in mainland China.
Get an overview of China’s mobile apps market here.
