Strategy Analytics: China's smartphone shipments in Q4 2018 were 108 million units, down 11% year-on-year

The latest research report released by Strategy Analytics pointed out that in Q4 2018 , China's smartphone shipments fell 11 % year-on-year to 108 million units. Huawei performed best and became the clear market leader, while Apple and Xiaomi lost ground.

Wu Yiwen, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “China’s smartphone shipments fell 11% year-on-year from 121.3 million units in Q4 2017 to 107.9 million units in Q4 2018. The Chinese smartphone market is in recession and has seen five consecutive quarters of decline. The smartphone market is suffering from longer replacement cycles and weak consumer spending. For the full year of 2018, smartphone shipments fell 11% year-on-year to 408.5 million. The past year has been very difficult and the smartphone industry will want to forget it.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Huawei shipped 30 million smartphones in China in Q4 2018, accounting for 28% market share in China. Huawei’s growth rate soared 23% year-on-year and Huawei has become the clear market leader. A strong product portfolio, well-known brand and extensive retail channels are the main success factors.”

Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “OPPO ranked second in China with a 20.8% smartphone market share in Q4 2018. OPPO’s shipments fell 2% year-on-year, but its growth rate is still above average. Huawei is putting pressure on OPPO in the mid-range and offline retail channels in major cities such as Shanghai, and OPPO is trying to fight back by targeting more online channels with improved models (such as the K series). Vivo ranked third with a market share of 20.6%, very close to OPPO. Vivo’s annual growth rate was only 8%, second only to Huawei. Vivo achieved online growth with the Z series and is launching more high-end models in the NEX series, aiming to differentiate through technological innovation.”

Qian Sui, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “In Q4 2018, Apple surpassed Xiaomi and took 10% of the smartphone market share in China, ranking fourth. However, iPhone shipments fell 22% year-on-year, the company’s worst performance since early 2017. Apple’s iPhone has fallen year-on-year in China for eight of the past 12 quarters. Apple has been under pressure in China for the past three years. The ongoing patent war with Qualcomm is a distraction, while Apple has been criticized for its expensive retail prices. Outside of China, Apple is also facing a crisis in iPhone pricing.”

Wu Yiwen, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, added: “Xiaomi’s strong growth in China has stalled with a 9% market share in Q4 2018, falling 35% year-on-year. Xiaomi is suffering from inventory backlogs and faces fierce competition from rivals Huawei and Vivo. The top five brands now account for 90% of all smartphone shipments in China. Smaller mobile phone manufacturers outside the top five, such as Meizu, are struggling to catch up, and their profits are also shrinking.”