Huawei has managed to maintain its lead in the Chinese smartphone market throughout the second quarter of 2017, after having regained the spot from OPPO during the first quarter of the year. According to Canalys’ Smartphone Analysis service, the electronics manufacturer shipped over 23 million handsets in China during the second quarter. Not far behind Huawei is OPPO, and it managed to ship 21 million handsets throughout the country. This figure represents a 37 percent growth year-on-year for OPPO, while its sister company Vivo took third place. Vivo shipped over 16 million units, a significant decrease from the previous quarter.
While Xiaomi was placed fifth during the previous quarter with shipments amounting to 9 million handsets, the company has seen a huge jump in that figure. The firm managed to ship 15 million devices during the second quarter of the year, a 60 percent increase from the previous quarter. Xiaomi even managed to overtake Apple which ranked fourth in the previous quarter, and the Cupertino-based company is now placed fifth. According to Canalys Research Analyst Lucio Chen, Xiaomi is still the preferred choice for price-conscious customers as it offers the best value when it comes to smartphones. The mid-range Redmi series is selling well in China, and its main competitors are OPPO’s A series and Vivo’s Y series. Most of Xiaomi’s devices were sold through online channels such as Tmall and JD.com but the company is also trying to push sales through offline channels. Chen added that Xiaomi’s growing number of ‘experience stores’ will pose a threat to OPPO’s and Vivo’s dominance in the offline scene.
Other manufacturers such as Samsung, Apple and Meizu, saw a decline in handset shipments during the second quarter. Hattie He, another Canalys Research Analyst mentioned that the top five brands accounted for almost 75 percent of smartphone shipments in China. While OPPO and Vivo experienced extremely high growth throughout the past year, this growth will likely be slowed by the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi, both of which are trying to establish themselves through offline and online channels. Electronic manufacturers managed to ship over 113 million units in China in the second quarter of 2017, a 3 percent drop from the previous quarter.