Smartphone Market Share in China (Dec 2023)

In the most recent month, the current brand with the most market share is Apple at 25.31%, followed in second place by Huawei at 22.71%. Ranking next to these brands are Xiaomi, Vivo, and OPPO, with market shares of 8.27%, 5.79%, and 4.45%, respectively.

With a 25.31% market share in the fourth quarter of 2023, Apple has overtaken Huawei as the most dominant player in China’s smartphone market. Huawei is in the second spot, with 22.71% in the same quarter, a 2.61% difference from the top brand Apple. Other brands, such as Xiaomi, Vivo, and OPPO, also maintained their rankings from the previous quarter, with recent figures at 8.27%, 5.79%, and 4.45% market share, respectively.

In the second quarter of 2022, China’s smartphone shipments showed a 10% year-on-year (YOY) decrease, from around 74 million to 67 million units. Sales of foldable smartphones in the country, however, grew by 132.4% in the same period.

Apple currently has a yearly market share of 24.69% in China. At present, it is the largest smartphone brand share in the country based on the first three quarters of 2023.

In 2020, Huawei managed to become the top smartphone in China by skyrocketing its market share by almost 10% from the previous year. It took 30.31% brand share that year, with Apple coming in second at 18.47%. It maintained its top status from 2020 to 2022. Before this, Apple held the biggest market share in the country from 2012 to 2019.

The current monthly market share of Apple is 25.31%. Historically, Apple reached its peak in the Chinese market on April 2017, when it reached a 43.69% brand share.

Apple ranked first in China’s smartphone market with a 25.31% market share in the fourth quarter of 2023. This is a 1.88% decline in brand share compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

Apple currently has a yearly market share of 24.69% in China. From 2012-2019, Apple held the biggest market share in China, peaking at 25.05% in 2017. It was surpassed by Huawei from 2020 to 2022. This year, Apple took back its position as the leading smartphone vendor in China by yearly market share.

The iPhone 13 has accounted for over 60% of Apple’s smartphone shipments in 2022, allowing the company to maintain its year-on-year solid growth rate.

Apple’s annual share increase in 2021, particularly on November 11, is remarkable because it occurred at a time when many Chinese consumers were holding back purchases in anticipation of Singles’ Day sales.

The current monthly market share of Huawei is 22.71%, sliding down to the second spot in the smartphone market in China. Its market share is 2.60% lower than its closest competitor, Apple.

Huawei’s P40 and P40 Pro 5G series, the Mate 30 5G series, and the Nova 7 5G series garnered positive feedback in the market, putting them at the top of the best-selling smartphone model list in China. It also expanded its market presence with the 4G-only Mate series, showing high demand from Chinese customers and channel partners.

While Huawei has mostly topped the recent quarterly shares of the Chinese smartphone market in the past couple of years, but Apple overtook it again in Q2 2023 with a 5.14% difference. Huawei continues to be in second place during the fourth quarter of 2023. The vendor, however, shows a decline of 10.75% compared to its brand share in early 2022.

Huawei currently has a 23.64% brand share in 2023, which only comes second to Apple’s 24.69%. It wasn’t until 2020 that Huawei finally took the number one spot on yearly market shares in China. With a share of less than 10% from 2010 to 2014, it consistently rose its market shares until it reached 30.31% in 2020. It held the top spot in yearly market share from 2020 to 2022 until Apple took the position again this year.

The current market share of Vivo is 5.79%. For the year 2022, Vivo peaked in July with 7.40% shares.

Despite smartphone shipments in China falling around 11% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2021, Vivo used its X70 Pro unit to expand its premium product portfolio.

Vivo claimed a 5.79% market share in this quarter. This is a slight decline of 0.17% this quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.

Vivo updated its product portfolio in the third quarter of 2022, and the X Series has seen consistent progress in the premium segment and online channel. Vivo’s bestselling units include their flagship models like the X21 and R15.

Vivo ranked high on the China market in 2023, claiming the fourth spot with a 6.66% brand share. It’s the company’s highest market penetration rate since 2015. Vivo saw its highest YOY growth in 2021, with a 3.2% rise in market share.

OPPO’s current monthly market share is at 4.45%. In the year 2022, OPPO’s monthly brand share peaked at 6.72% in January, which means there has been a 1.82% decline for the brand compared to its peak last year.

OPPO currently has a quarterly market share of 4.45% in Q4 2023. This is a 1.08% decline compared to the brand’s market share in Q4 2022. OPPO currently has the fifth-highest quarterly brand share in China.

OPPO’s volume drivers for the second quarter of 2022 were the Reno and A series. This is in addition to the Reno 8 series and the A57 models, both of which have sold over two million units.

Due to economic uncertainties, OPPO was less aggressive in launching new products in the home market around the third quarter of 2022.

OPPO’s current yearly brand share for 2023 is 5.04%. OPPO saw its highest yearly share in 2018 at 12.77%. This means that there has been a significant decline of 7.73% between OPPO’s highest yearly market penetration rate to its current one.

Based on StatCounter, Honor continues to be a minor player among the smartphone brands in China at 0.78% monthly market share.

However, Counterpoint Research data shows that Honor took 15-20% brand share in 2022-2023, placing it among Chinese smartphone brands with the highest market penetration rates.

HONOR separated from Huawei in the fourth quarter of 2020, and its market share does not include Huawei brand family volumes beginning in the first quarter of 2021.

According to Statcounter, Honor reached 0.78% brand share in the most recent quarter of 2023. This places the brand in the 8th spot in terms of market share in China.

Honor’s market share increased by 0.02% by the second quarter of 2022, thanks to the company’s coverage in lower-tier cities, where there were fewer lockdowns.

According to StatCounter, Honor currently holds 0.65% of the yearly market share in 2023. It represents a 0.17% increase from the previous year.

Honor’s year-on-year smartphone sales doubled from Q1 2021 to Q2 2022, making it the only major brand to do so during that time period. Smartphone shipments for the vendor increased by a year-on-year growth of 190% by the first quarter of 2022.

Honor became China’s fastest-growing original equipment manufacturer in the third quarter of 2021, with 96% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) sales growth.

According to Archie Zhang, a Counterpoint analyst, Honor’s mid-range to high-end phones helped drive the brand’s sales, with its Honor 50 model holding the top spot in the $200-$599 price range for five months after its June launch.

Xiaomi’s current monthly market share is 8.27%. This is a 4.67% decline from the vendor’s highest monthly market penetration rate in 2022, which peaked at 12.94%.

Xiaomi is heavily investing in R&D, with CNY 100 billion set aside for innovation investments over the next five years to support its premiumization strategy.

Xiaomi’s quarterly brand share in Q4 2023 is at 8.27%. Compared to the vendor’s market penetration rate in Q4 2022, this is a 1.16% decline. For the year 2022, Xiaomi had its highest share in the second quarter at 11.62%. Xiaomi also ranked third in China’s top brands with the highest market share over the last four quarters.

In 2023, Xioami had an 8.47% yearly market share, placing it third among China’s top smartphone brands. It is worth noting that its highest market share was in 2015, when it held 14.87%.

Xiaomi’s premium smartphone shipments in China, priced at CNY 3,000 and above, more than doubled in 2021 to 24 million units from the previous year.