Smartphone shipments to the Chinese market amounted to a little more than 60 million units in the third quarter of 2023, showing a 2.4% decline sequentially but a 5% increase compared to the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by DIGITIMES Research; however, the volume will rise to above 70 million units in the fourth quarter.
DIGITIMES Research attributed the relatively flat performance to the lack of major promotional campaigns during the period, and the overall purchasing momentum in the quarter was not as strong as in the second quarter.
However, there are indications of demand recovery in the Chinese market from the end of the third quarter. In conjunction with the promotional effects of the Single's Day shopping festival, the figures show that China's smartphone shipments will likely experience double-digit growth in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter of 2023, the top five smartphone vendors in the Chinese market were Oppo, Honor, Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi. Compared with the previous quarter, the second and third places were interchanged, with Huawei taking the fourth place and Apple falling out of the top five ranking. The combined market share of the top five brands in the quarter was 85.1%.
Oppo and Honor showed a year-on-year decrease in shipments, while Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi showed a year-on-year increase. Buoyed by the Single's Day shopping festival, China's smartphone shipments will likely increase 15.4% sequentially in the fourth quarter; Apple, Huawei, Oppo, Honor, and Vivo will probably be the top five brands in that order.
