China’s smartphone shipments tumble 31 per cent in July as lack of major releases, Covid-19 lockdowns dampen local demand

Total smartphone shipments in China reached 19.1 million units in July, down from 27.7 million in the same month last year

Chinese smartphone brands accounted for 91.8 per cent of shipments in July, with 18 new models released during the period

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For the first seven months of 2022, total smartphone shipments in China reached 156.2 million units, down 23 per cent from the same period last year. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:00am, 15 Sep 2022

China’s smartphone shipments plunged 31 per cent in July amid weak consumer sentiment and the lack of major new releases, according to data from a state-affiliated institute, continuing a downward trend as Covid-19 lockdowns and other control measures dampen local demand.

Total domestic smartphone shipments reached 19.1 million units in July, compared to 27.7 million in the same month last year, according to a new report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The latest smartphone shipment number is also below the 21 million units recorded in July 2012.

Chinese smartphone brands accounted for 91.8 per cent of the shipments in July this year, with 18 new models released during the period, according to the report released on Tuesday. Seven out of 10 smartphones shipped in July were 5G handsets.

For the first seven months of 2022, total smartphone shipments in China reached 153 million units, down 23 per cent from the same period last year.

Shoppers are seen inside Chinese smartphone maker Honor’s retail store in Shanghai on July 2, 2022. Honor, which was spun off from Huawei Technologies Co in 2020, topped smartphone shipments in China in the second quarter. Photo: Shutterstock

That downturn does not seem to bode well for a marked improvement in smartphone shipments this third quarter, although Apple’s release of its new iPhone 14 range this month could provide a late boost.

The new iPhone 14 series, which was unveiled last week, has seen a deluge of pre-orders in the world’s largest smartphone market, crashing Apple’s China online services. Shipments of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, the two most premium-priced models, have been pushed back five to seven weeks beyond their September 16 release date.

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