Canalys: China's smartphone shipments to grow 4% in 2024

The latest research from Canalys shows that the smartphone market in mainland China will ship 285 million units in 2024, recovering after two years of decline, with a modest year-on-year growth of 4%.

Vivo leads the market with a 17% market share this year, with shipments of 49.3 million units.

Huawei ranked second with 46 million units shipped, a year-on-year increase of 37%.

Apple, OPPO and Honor ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively, with a market share of 15% each, and the competition is fierce.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, driven by the high-end peak season, government subsidies and year-end promotions, the smartphone market in mainland China grew 5% year-on-year to 77.4 million units. Apple shipped 13.1 million units in the traditional peak season of this quarter, maintaining its first position. Its shipments fell 25% year-on-year due to intensified competition from domestic brands.

vivo and Huawei followed closely behind, occupying 17% of the market share respectively, ranking second and third.

Xiaomi ranked fourth in the fourth quarter of 2024 with shipments of 12.2 million units and an annual growth rate of 29%, the highest among the top suppliers.

OPPO ranked fifth with 10.6 million units shipped, an increase of 18% year-on-year in the fourth quarter.

Toby Zhu, senior analyst at Canalys, said: "The Chinese smartphone market has shown extraordinary vitality in 2024, with steady recovery in all four quarters. Strategic investments and technological innovations by suppliers have brought about a recovery in mass-market demand and a boom in the high-end market. In the mass market, brands such as Honor, OPPO and vivo have encouraged consumers to upgrade their devices by offering affordable, well-designed and durable products. In the high-end market, innovations such as GenAI, system development and reorganization (such as Huawei's HarmonyOS NEXT and Xiaomi's HyperOS), as well as breakthroughs in in-house chips and foldable form factors have been attracting high-end users, prompting them to upgrade their devices. Market growth in 2024 is structurally healthy through value-added products, technological innovation, market education and demand recovery."