14 DAY TRIAL // It’s a well-known fact that China is one of the biggest smartphone markets out there, and many companies are competing for the top position. However, it seems that the Chinese prefer local lower-cost phones to those manufactured by Apple or Samsung.
A report by IDC reveals that Chinese smartphone brands Oppo and Huawei are seeing an increasing number of sales in China, while the top companies in other markets, Samsung and Apple, are seeing a drop in sales.
Chinese vendors Oppo, Huawei and Vivo are the top three smartphone makers in China, with 48% of all shipments in 2016. The three companies might be dominating the scene in the coming years, considering that they offer much of the specs and design elements, like curved displays, found on Samsung flagships.
Apple shipments declined 13.5 million in 2016
Apple saw its first decline in smartphone sales in China in the fourth quarter, signaling the fact that Chinese customers are buying local phones in the detriment of Apple’s iPhones. But Apple seems to be doing slightly better than Xiaomi, which grabbed the fifth position with 8.9% market share, compared to Apple’s 9.6% share.
Apple dropped 4% compared to 2015’s market share of 13.6% and recorded a 13.5 million (23.2%) decline in shipment units in 2016. It’s the biggest drop for Apple on the Chinese market, while Oppo and Vivo recorded year-on-year growths higher than 90%, with the former hitting 122.2%. Solely in Q4, Apple dropped 4% in market share compared to the same quarter of 2015, as shipment volumes decreased 2.2 million.
The numbers indicate that Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus didn’t manage to attract customers from China, who are offered cheaper alternatives in terms of components. The dual-camera and larger display on the iPhone 7 Plus were enough to outsell the standard iPhone 7 model in many markets, but Chinese customers can pick from a whole range of affordable smartphones that could offer similar performances, Huawei’s P9 phones with Leica dual-camera sensors or Oppo N1 with a rotating camera are appealing choices.