Around 104.1 million smartphones were shipped to China in the first quarter of 2017, which represents a mere 1 percent growth year-on-year, in part the result of high inventory from the previous quarter. Huawei overtook Oppo to become the largest smartphone company in China in the first quarter of this year, according to a report from International Data Corporation (IDC). The report shows Huawei shipped 20.8 million smartphones in the first quarter, which represents an increase of 25.5 percent year-on-year. Oppo raked second with 18.9 million smartphone units shipped in the quarter, up 19.5 percent year-on-year, followed by Vivo (14.6 million smartphones), Apple (9.6 million), and Xiaomi (9.3 million).
Despite a soft first quarter in China, the second quarter is expected to pick up sequentially given not only JD.com’s June promotions, but also activity around a number of new products such as Vivo’ Y53, Xiaomi’s Mi 6, Meizu with its E2, and Gionee with its M6S Plus, the report further shows. Apple saw double-digit year-on-year declines for the fifth quarter in a row, but report authors believe that Chinese consumers are holding out for the launch of Apple's 10-year anniversary iPhone at the end of the year, and this will help Apple to see a rebound in the China smartphone market.
The top five smartphone companies now dominate 70 percent of the Chinese smartphone market. Their share is forecast to continue to rise and to see more consolidation from the smaller companies in the coming year. Android ASPs continued to increase quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.
The study also found that Huawei's Honor 8, Oppo's R9s and Vivo's X9 were the most popular models from these companies in the quarter. Smartphone companies are expected to focus more on their offline retail expansion. Huawei has committed to opening more experience stores in key cities while Oppo will open more stores in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Xiaomi, who used to focus on its online channel, has targeted to open 1,000 Mi Home stores in the next 3 years across China.
