Oppo, Xiaomi rise in smartphone rankings, filling the Huawei void left by US sanctions
- Oppo became China’s No 1 smartphone brand for the first time with 21 per cent of the market, according to Counterpoint
- Xiaomi and Oppo have benefited the most from Huawei’s decline, precipitated by US sanctions, in China, Europe and Latin America
Chinese smartphone makers Oppo and Vivo have risen in the rankings at home, with Xiaomi seeing big gains overseas, benefiting from the struggles of Huawei Technologies Co amid harsh US sanctions.
Oppo became China’s No 1 smartphone brand in January for the first time, making up 21 per cent of the market, according to the latest data released by Counterpoint Research on Friday. The company’s sales grew 33 per cent over the previous month, aided by the launch of the Reno 5 series of smartphones in the affordable premium segment, along with Huawei’s decline. Vivo came in second place with 20 per cent market share. Vivo and Oppo, along with OnePlus and Realme, are owned by BBK Electronics.
Huawei, which once held a dominant lead in China’s smartphone market, fell to third place, tied with Apple and Xiaomi at 16 per cent market share each.
“Oppo’s growth was in part also driven by Huawei’s decline, a trend that also benefited Xiaomi and Vivo,” Counterpoint analyst Varun Mishra said in the firm’s report. “Xiaomi is benefiting the most from the decline in Huawei’s online share, while Oppo and Vivo have been capturing the offline segment.”
Even after the initial US sanctions against Huawei in 2019, it was able to fend off rivals. The Shenzhen-based company’s hardware was widely praised and it benefited from nationalist pride at home. Being cut off from Google apps and services bruised international sales, but that was not a problem in China, where Google is blocked and Google Play Services are not preloaded on Android phones. However, tightening US sanctions last year banned foreign chip makers that use US technology from selling to Huawei without approval, cutting the company off from foundries needed to make its high-end Kirin processors, leading the company to sell its budget smartphone brand Honor to a consortium of partners in November.