In the second quarter of 2021, China’s smartphone shipments reached about 78.1 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 11.0%. In the first half of 2021, the overall domestic market shipped 164 million units, with a year-on-year increase of 6.5%.
Vivo has the largest market share of 23.8% in Q2, followed by Oppo (21.1%), Xiaomi (17.2%), and Apple (10.9%).
China Smartphone Market Forecast
Among the Chinese buyers who plan to buy new mobile phones in the next six months, 70% are willing to buy new smartphone brands with good reviews and appropriate price, according to a survey by Strategy Analytics released in June 2021.
The survey’s key findings include:
- 35% of high-end smartphone users will change their phones in the next six months.
- 5G is a must, and 90% of users want their next smartphone to be 5G.
- Only half of the Chinese smartphone users agree that their current smartphones can meet almost all their needs. Apple is clearly the leader in this area.
- The repeat purchase intention of Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi in China is 17-21 percentage points lower than that of Apple.
In a series of consumer electronic products and services, Chinese consumers have the lowest loyalty to brands, and smartphones are no exception, according to Strategy Analytics.
70% of the respondents who plan to buy high-end equipment in the next six months will consider trying a new brand. It’s hard to win customers for the first time, but it’s more challenging to retain them.
China is one of the largest and most unstable smartphone markets in the world. China’s smartphone replacement cycle is still one of the shortest in the world, and 40% of people bought a brand new smartphone less than nine months ago.
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China smartphone shipment in 2020
In 2020, Huawei has the largest market share of 38.3% by total smartphone shipments. Apple’s market share increased to 11.1% from 8.9% in 2019. Check out global smartphone shipment in 2020 here.
Xiaomi’s 2020 performance was mainly supported by its well-positioned product lineups and its offline penetration in the lower-tier cities, which resulted in more than 29% YoY growth in the second half of the year.
In the fourth quarter, the domestic 5G mobile phone shipments were about 60 million units, and the cumulative shipments for the whole year of 2020 were about 167 million units, accounting for more than 50%, according to data from IDC.
MediaTek was the largest 5G processor supplier in Q4 2020, with its products covering the mainstream and mid-range price bands, meeting the demand in the <US$300 5G segment.
Apple’s 5G processor ranked second with the support of the iPhone 12 series, followed by Qualcomm, Huawei Hisilicon, and Samsung, while Unisoc also gained a higher share, according to IDC.
Get an overview of China’s mobile apps market here.