Chinese smartphone market tipped to grow for first time in 5 years
China's smartphone market is set to grow for the first time in five years, following a 3 percent increase in the third quarter.
The warm market response, along with increased domestic demand and government stimulus initiatives, has fueled competitiveness among major smartphone vendors.
In the last two weeks, smartphone vendors such as Honor, Huawei, OPPO, and Xiaomi have unveiled 5G devices with artificial intelligence features, as well as upgraded cameras, chips, and batteries, with two or three new products being released on the same day. They are targeting the high-growth market in the fourth quarter, bolstered by Singles Day, the world's largest online shopping event.
Sales of smartphones in China continued to rise in the third quarter, marking the first yearly increase in recent memory.
In the third quarter, China smartphone shipments increased by 3.2 percent year on year to 68.8 million units, as "a significant wave of device upgrades is propelling the sustained recovery of the Chinese smartphone market," according to International Data Corp or IDC's most recent report.
IDC listed the top five manufacturers as Vivo, Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Honor, whereas Counterpoint Research dropped Apple from the top five domestic rankings and included Vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, and OPPO in the top five.
OnePlus released its new flagship model in Beijing.
OnePlus, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, unveiled its new flagship model, the OnePlus 13, in Beijing on Thursday. It has a Snapdragon processor, eSports optimization, and an eye-friendly screen. It went on sale today for 4,499 yuan (US$642).
On Wednesday, Honor announced its new flagship model, the Magic 7, which features AI optimization for the system, camera, connectivity, and battery management. The company claimed the phone reached the "L3" autonomous level, which is the highest level in the industry, similar to the L1-L5 level used in autonomous driving. The smartphone will go on sale from November 8 for a starting price of 5,699 yuan.
A new "autonomous driving" era for AI phones is on the horizon, according to Honor's CEO Zhao Ming.
"The greatest magic in today's world is artificial intelligence," said the CEO of Honor, Zhao Ming. "We think AI will reshape the smartphone industry."
On Wednesday, the same day that Honor released Magic 7, iQOO, a subsidiary of market leader Vivo, also unveiled the new iQOO 13. It represents fierce rivalry between the main suppliers of smartphones.
Last week, OPPO also unveiled its flagship Find X8, which has its own AI features, a new battery design, and an improved telescopic capability in the camera. It is on sale from 4,199 yuan.
"We are not incorporating AI features and components into smartphones," said Peter Liu, OPPO's chief product officer. "We designed it with the most appropriate and necessary features for customers."
Flim star Li Xian (center) was invited to promote OPPO's new phone.
It is believed that government initiatives to encourage consumption and the Singles Day celebration, which runs through November 11, will increase domestic market sales in 2024.
In an effort to boost consumption, China has introduced a number of policies that address the purchase of smartphones and household appliances.
Certain technologies, home appliances, and home décor items can be purchased in Shanghai with a trade-in subsidy of up to 2,000 yuan, or 15 percent.
In the fourth quarter, IDC predicted that the favorable growth trend would continue because "this momentum will be bolstered by the early release of flagship models from leading brands, as well as the early kick-off of the Singles Day shopping festival."
People try out new smartphones at a store.
