China’s smartphone market narrows decline in second quarter, with Huawei back in the country’s top 5 vendor ranking

The world’s largest smartphone market saw 65.7 million handsets ship in the second quarter, down 2.1 per cent from a year earlier

That marked the first time in six quarters that the domestic smartphone industry saw a contraction in single digits

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Attendees check out the smartphones displayed at Huawei Technologies’ booth at the MWC Shanghai event on June 28, 2023. Huawei returned to China’s top-five smartphone vendor ranking in the second quarter. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:30pm, 27 Jul 2023

Smartphone shipments in China posted a narrower decline in the second quarter, after reaching their lowest level in first-quarter shipments earlier this year, as Apple’s iPhone 14 discounts helped stimulate local demand and US-blacklisted Huawei Technologies returned to the market’s top-five ranking.

The world’s largest smartphone market saw 65.7 million handsets ship in the quarter ended June 30, which was a smaller 2.1 per cent decrease compared to the 14.8 per cent drop in the same period last year, according to a report released by technology research firm IDC on Thursday.

Sluggish consumer demand, according to IDC, offset efforts by smartphone vendors and e-commerce operators to offer bigger handset discounts during the recent 618 shopping festival, which saw sales tumble more than 5 per cent. This event is China’s second-largest retail extravaganza after Singles’ Day.

While IDC said the “challenging environment will continue in the short term” in China’s smartphone market, its data showed that shipments in the three months to June marked the first time in six quarters that the domestic industry saw a contraction in single digits.

Shoppers check out iPhone 14 models on display at an Apple Store in Beijing on September 16, 2022. Apple was China’s fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the second quarter this year. Photo: AP

The continued weakness in China’s smartphone market last quarter reflected the uneven post-pandemic economic recovery, as the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the three months to June rose by only 0.8 per cent quarter on quarter, down from a 2.2 per cent rise in the first three months of the year.

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