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China’s smartphone market shows signs of revival amid strong demand for Huawei’s new 5G handsets, Apple’s latest iPhones during ‘golden week’ holiday
- Smartphone sales in China rose 15 per cent year on year during the ‘golden week’ holiday from September 29 to October 6
- China’s smartphone export volume also rose to 83.5 million units in September, up almost 30 per cent from 64.6 million in August
Iris Dengin Shenzhen
China’s smartphone market, which has seen a slump in the first eight months of the year, is now showing signs of a revival on the back of brisk demand for Huawei Technologies’ new 5G handsets and Apple’s recently launched iPhone 15 series, according to analysts.
A “significant” 15 per cent year-on-year growth in smartphone sales was achieved during the “golden week” holiday, from September 29 to October 6, celebrating China’s National Day, according to a research note on Friday by TF International Securities analyst Kuo Ming-chi, known for his focus on Apple-related matters.
“The slump in the Chinese smartphone market will be over soon, with expectations of renewed growth,” Kuo wrote. He indicated that handset shipments in the country, the world’s biggest smartphone market, will see growth resume in the fourth quarter this year.
Macroeconomic headwinds, along with coronavirus-related disruptions since 2020, have weakened consumer demand in mainland China and shrunk smartphone sales since 2017. In the first eight months of 2023, China’s total unit volume sales fell 4 per cent year on year, according to data from market research firm Counterpoint.
Even China’s smartphone production continued to decline in the first eight months of the year. The country manufactured 679 million smartphones from January to August this year, down 7.5 per cent from the same period in 2022, according to data published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology earlier this month.
But the “golden week” indicator, referenced by TF analyst Kuo, for domestic smartphone demand shows that a welcome change in consumer sentiment appears on hand in spite of the country’s bumpy post-pandemic economy recovery, which has been weighed down by a property crisis, record high youth unemployment and weak confidence in the private sector.
The market’s outlook for the rest of 2023 could improve on the back of the new 5G smartphones released by Huawei and Apple, as well as the coming winter sales season, according to an October 6 Post report that cited Counterpoint senior research analyst Ivan Lam.
In another sign of a rebound, China’s smartphone export volume rose to 83.5 million units in September, up almost 30 per cent from 64.6 million in August, according to official government data released on Friday.
China’s smartphone manufacturing output declines in first 8 months of year
China’s smartphone manufacturing output declines in first 8 months of year
Still, the total smartphone export volume in the January to September period remained down 8.5 per cent year on year to 561.4 million units, according to official data.
Shenzhen-based Huawei’s low-key launch on the mainland of its Mate 60 Pro and Mate 60 Pro+ handsets, powered by an advanced mystery chip, marked the US-blacklisted company’s return to the 5G smartphone market, which has ignited patriotic fervour and strong local demand after years of struggle under Washington’s tech and trade sanctions.
Huawei has already raised its smartphone shipment target by 20 per cent for the second half of the year, buoyed by the popularity of its Mate 60 Pro series, according to a report by Beijing-based business newspaper Securities Daily.
Apple’s new iPhone 15 series, meanwhile, has also drawn long queues of shoppers at the company’s bricks-and-mortar stores in China. Online orders of the top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max currently require wait times of four to five weeks before delivery, which has prompted some consumers on social media to share their shipping status and reference other people’s orders.
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