IDC: China's smartphone market shipments in the third quarter of 2021 were approximately 80.8 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 4.7%

According to the latest IDC mobile quarterly tracking report, in the third quarter of 2021, China's smartphone market shipments were approximately 80.8 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 4.7%. The continued increase in average unit prices and the lack of product innovation to stimulate consumers to shorten the replacement cycle have become the main factors for the continued decline in the market. Compared with the first half of the year, the market share gap between the leading manufacturers continues to narrow, and the market share of the top five manufacturers has exceeded double digits.

Market performance of the top five smartphone manufacturers in the second quarter of 2021:

vivo

It continues to maintain its No. 1 position in the domestic market. The iterative X70 series and the new flagship products of its sub-brand iQOO have boosted vivo's market share in the price range of US$600-800 (excluding tax, the same below). The X70 Pro+ has attracted users' attention through its differentiated features such as "self-developed ISP" and has performed outstandingly in the online channel market.

OPPO

Due to the lack of major new products, the market share in the third quarter decreased compared with the first half of the year, but it still increased compared with last year. The A series and Reno 6 series ensured the stability of OPPO's market share in the mid-range market (US$200-400) and the mid-to-high-end market (US$400-600). However, facing the impact of competing products, the market share of other price segments has declined to a certain extent.

Honor

Driven by the continued hot sales of its main product, the Honor 50 series, and the launch of new products such as the X20 and Magic3 series, channel confidence and upstream supply chain cooperation willingness are rapidly increasing, helping Honor's market share quickly rise to 17.3%, ranking among the top three in the domestic market.

Xiaomi

In the third quarter, Xiaomi encountered certain supply problems, which led to a long period of shortage of main products including Redmi Note 10, affecting its market performance. However, the newly released MIX 4 series and the continuously popular Redmi 9 series, which are priced between US$600 and US$800 and below US$150, respectively, helped Xiaomi stabilize its overall market share.

Apple

Compared with the same period last year, the pace of new product releases has returned to normal, with a year-on-year increase of nearly 50%. Among them, the iPhone 13 series accounts for about 40% of domestic shipments, becoming the biggest driving force for rapid growth. At the same time, the more favorable pricing strategy also makes the shipment share of high-end versions in the iPhone 13 series higher than that of the iPhone 12 series in the same period last year.

Recently, as 5G in the Chinese market officially entered its second anniversary of commercial use, 5G terminals have completely become the mainstream in the domestic market. In the third quarter of 2021, 5G smartphones accounted for 77.0% of the overall market shipments, but it is worth mentioning that the share of domestic 4G smartphone shipments this quarter rebounded for the first time in nearly two years. The reason for this is that, on the one hand, Huawei was forced to turn to 4G products under the influence of force majeure; on the other hand, the market demand for entry-level 4G products from other leading manufacturers still shows clear continuity, including the launch of several new 4G products in the domestic market in the second half of the year.

Wang Xi, research manager of IDC China , believes that in the context of the rapid penetration of 5G terminals in the industry, the rebound in the share of 4G in the domestic market is undoubtedly a short-term fluctuation, but this fluctuation still reflects consumers' continued demand for mainstream and affordable products. While terminal manufacturers continue to pursue high-end strategies, they should not ignore the continued investment in affordable products.

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