Smartphone shipments in the China market reached 112.8 million units in the third quarter of 2017, increasing 18.6% sequentially but decreasing 1.9% on year. China shipments accounted for 31.3% of the global smartphone shipments in the quarter, according to Digitimes Research.
Buoyed by Single's Day promotional campaigns and the release of iPhone X by Apple and new models by other brands, smartphone shipments in China are expected to top 128.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017, Digitimes Research estimates.
Inventory replenishments by Huawei, Oppo and Vivo contributed to the sequential shipment growth in the third quarter. However, Huawei is likely to pay more attention on boosting sales in overseas markets in the fourth quarter, while adopting a more conservative approach in the domestic front to avoid an inventory build-up. On the other hand, Oppo and Vivo will continue to push sales in the fourth quarter to maintain their market share.
Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi Technology and Apple were the top-5 vendors in the China market in the third quarter. Huawei managed to maintain its top-vendor title due in part to its efforts to clear out its inventories and brisk sales of its mid-tier and entry-level models. Xiaomi lagged behind Oppo and Vivo as the vendor counted more on oversea shipments. Meanwhile, Apple gained a boost on the release of iPhone 8 devices and price cuts for old models.
Looking into the fourth quarter, Apple is likely to outrace Xiaomi to capture the fourth position in China thanks to the release of iPhone X, while Huawei, Oppo and Vivo will be able to maintain their current rankings.