New phones from manufacturers like Huawei and Apple helped to grow China’s smartphone sales last quarter, with the iPhone manufacturer returning to the top five brands in the world’s largest phone market.
Chinese smartphone shipments grew 3.2% year-on-year to reach 68.8 million units for the quarter ending September, according to preliminary data released by market intelligence firm IDC on Friday.
“A significant wave of device upgrades is propelling the sustained recovery of the Chinese smartphone market,” wrote Arthur Guo, a senior research analyst with IDC China, in the report. Shoppers are still “highly motivated” to buy a new phone despite China’s broader economic challenges.
Huawei led the surge in smartphone shipments, with a 42% jump last quarter compared to the same period a year ago. The Chinese tech giant now has four straight quarters of year-on-year growth, sparked by its return to the premium phone market with the Mate 60 last August. The phone was celebrated by Chinese state media for featuring a domestically-produced advanced processor, in spite of U.S. sanctions.
Last quarter, Huawei unveiled a tri-fold smartphone, a model with three screens.
“Huawei’s double-digit growth was again supported by its premium image and the buzz it created with its tri-foldable phone,” said Will Wong, senior research manager at IDC’s Asia-Pacific client devices group.
Huawei is now the third-largest smartphone player in China with a 15.3% market share.
Apple, which released its latest iPhone on September 20, has returned to China’s top five smartphone manufacturers based on shipments. Apple, according to IDC’s data, has 15.6% of China’s market share, just ahead of Huawei and putting it in second place overall.
Apple was in sixth place in the second quarter of 2024, according to IDC, making it the first quarter in four years to feature entirely Chinese companies in the top five.
Still, Apple’s smartphone shipments declined 0.3% last quarter compared to a year ago. Upcoming shopping events like Singles Day could boost sales in the final quarter of the year.
Independent research has previously suggested Apple was losing ground in China due to competition from local brands like Huawei, Honor and Xiaomi.
Vivo led China phone shipments last quarter with 18.6% market share. Xiaomi and Honor round out the top five, behind Apple and Huawei.
IDC expects that smartphone shipments will improve for the final quarter of the year, citing the early kick-off of Singles Day, the world’s largest shopping festival.
Apple, Huawei, vivo and Xiaomi each racked up 100 million yuan ($14 million) in direct sales on Monday, the first day of direct sales from e-commerce giant Alibaba, according to the (Alibaba-owned) South China Morning Post.
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