Huawei returns to the top of China’s mobile phone charts for first time in 4 years: IDC.

Huawei Technologies topped mainland China’s smartphone market in the second quarter – the first time in four years – “underscoring its strong brand appeal and effective shipment management”, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).

However, China’s smartphone sales shrank 4 per cent to 69 million units in the April to June quarter due to weak consumption and reduced government subsidies for electronic devices, data from the consultancy released on Tuesday showed. It was the first quarterly contraction after six consecutive periods of growth, according to IDC.

Shenzhen-based Huawei, which divested the Honor smartphone brand in 2020, accounted for 18.1 per cent of the mainland’s market, although its shipments dropped 3.4 per cent from a year ago to 12.5 million units.

Vivo and Oppo came in second and third, respectively, while fourth-ranked Xiaomi was the only one in the top five to record a growth in shipments. Xiaomi, with a focus on the “value-conscious customer base”, posted a 3.4 per cent increase in shipments to 10.4 million units, IDC said.

Fifth-placed Apple saw a quarterly shipment decline of 1.3 per cent – the least among the top five, as it “leveraged strategic price adjustments that made specific iPhone 16 and 16 Pro variants eligible for government subsidies”, said Will Wong, senior research manager for client devices at IDC in Asia-Pacific.

Source: SCMP