Apple Inc and Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀) were the top smartphone makers in China in the first quarter this year, in a market that is still shrinking following a year of economic disruptions.
Shenzhen-based Oppo had the biggest share of shipments, at 19.6 percent, IDC data showed, with Apple’s iPhone following close behind.
Counterpoint and Canalys estimates, which look at sales and shipments, handed Apple the narrow lead.
Photo: Bloomberg
The US electronics firm clinched the top spot in the final three months of last year following the release of its iPhone 14 and 14 Pro series.
The Chinese smartphone market registered double-digit contractions for most of the past year, first with steep drops in sales of Android handsets, such as those made by Oppo, and eventually affecting even Apple’s iPhone range.
Shipments to China excluding Hong Kong and Macau declined 11 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to the lowest first-quarter levels in a decade, Canalys said.
Price cuts of iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models helped in February, IDC said, although the introduction of a new yellow iPhone 14 handset failed to stir major excitement.
Apple debuted the new color option early last month hoping to keep buyers interested in the pricey device, which costs at least 5,999 yuan (US$866) in China.
Oppo sold more premium devices than expected in the past quarter, IDC said.
It got a boost from its sub-brand OnePlus returning to the domestic market, along with a positive reception to its foldable devices.
Samsung Electronics Co, the global leader in smartphones and foldables, has only a small presence in China, where every local phone maker now has at least one foldable model on sale.
None of the top five biggest vendors in China recorded positive growth.
Vivo, Honor Mobile (榮耀) and Xiaomi Corp (小米) rounded out the leading brands, each with significant declines on the same period last year.
Smartphone production is down 13.8 percent in the world’s second-largest economy this year, despite a rebound in the overall economy, official data showed.
“The [COVID-19] pandemic affected consumer behavior in the medium to long term, where consumers tended to spend their income on necessities and maintain certain savings,” Canalys analyst Lucas Zhong said in a report yesterday. “Vendors need to offer convincing products to stimulate upgrades.”
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