China's handset vendors as a whole are expected to see their combined shipments experience a double-digit decline annually in H2, according to Digitimes Research. The decline would be caused by export shipments constrained by the persistence of the coronavirus pandemic in some overseas markets, while domestic demand has yet to recover its momentum.
China's smartphone shipments expanded strongly by 43.3 percent sequentially to 157 million units in Q2 thanks to inventory build-ups by channel operators and a low base recorded in the previous quarter, although the figures were still down 15.2 percent from a year earlier, the researchers said.
The top-4 vendors – Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi – accounted for 82.3 percent of China's domestic smartphone shipments in Q2 as they were forced to focus on shipments in the domestic market due to constraints on exports.
Huawei saw its second-quarter shipments grow 2.1 percent on year, while Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi recorded on-year shipment declines. Xiaomi shipments plunged 27.1 percent due to a significant setback in its overseas shipments.
Although China's handset vendors are expected to roll out 5G phones priced roughly at CNY 1,000 (USD 143) in H2 to ramp up sales, researchers expect weak domestic economy and job market and a lukewarm prospect for global economy to affect their shipments in H2.
