Sales of smartphones in China retreated 7.5% sequentially in the third quarter of 2019 after registering a sequential 22.4% growth in the previous quarter, Digitimes Research has found. On a yearly basis, third-quarter shipments were down 14.2% from a year earlier.
Smartphone shipments to China are expected to rebound about 10% sequentially in the fourth quarter, driven by replenishment demand ahead of the forthcoming Lunar New Year holidays. However, fourth-quarter shipments will still represent a single-digit drop from a year earlier as China's economy and market demand will remain weak despite possible easing of its bitter trade dispute with the US, Digitimes Research estimates.
Huawei, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and Apple, the top-five smartphone vendors in China, saw their combined share reach 95% in the third quarter, the same level as they held a quarter earlier.
In the fourth quarter, only two out of the top-five vendors, Huawei and Apple, are expected to see their shipments increase over 20% on-year, and the other three vendors will suffer a setback of over 20%, Digitimes Research estimates.