Counterpoint: China's smartphone sales reached 29 million units in January 2025, a year-on-year increase of 17.6%

It is understood that on January 20 this year, national subsidies for digital products such as mobile phones and tablets were launched in various parts of the country.

According to the policy, individual consumers who purchase three types of digital products, namely mobile phones, tablets, and smart watches (bracelets), with a single sales price not exceeding 6,000 yuan, can enjoy new purchase subsidies.

Each person can subsidize one item per category, and the subsidy ratio for each item is 15% of the final sales price after deducting all discounts in the production, circulation links and mobile operators, and the maximum subsidy per item shall not exceed RMB 500.

The Ministry of Commerce's national data platform for home appliance trade-in and new purchases of digital products such as mobile phones shows that from 0:00 on January 20 to 24:00 on February 8, 20.092 million consumers applied for subsidies for the purchase of 25.414 million mobile phones and other digital products.

According to media reports, Pan Helin, a member of the Information and Communications Economics Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that since the national subsidies are subject to price limits, consumers will definitely look for mobile phone products that best meet their performance requirements and have the best cost-effectiveness within the national subsidy areas. This will to a certain extent suppress the sales of mobile phone products priced above 6,000 yuan, and the market competition landscape of mobile phone brands may change as a result.

For consumers, he suggested that they can actively participate in national subsidies and maximize the policy benefits. The key is to grab the bonus benefits. Of course, choosing a mobile phone that is close to the 6,000 yuan threshold and can enjoy the maximum national subsidy bonus is the best choice.