China's smartphone shipments declined 4.3% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, totaling 66 million units, research firm IDC said. The drop marked the fifth consecutive quarter of falling shipments, and volumes for the first half of the year were 4.2% lower than a year earlier.
Among major vendors, Huawei Technologies and Apple were the only two to report year-on-year growth in the quarter. Huawei's shipments rose 19.4% while Apple recorded a 24.4% increase. Huawei led the market with a 22.6% share, followed by Apple with an 18.1% share.
Other prominent vendors experienced declines. Xiaomi, ranked fifth, saw second-quarter shipments fall 21.7%. Oppo's shipments decreased by 9.7% and Vivo's fell 11.4%.
IDC attributed the broader market weakness in part to widespread price increases and model lineup changes by many Android vendors. Manufacturers responded to surging memory chips and other component costs by raising retail prices or reducing the number of lower-priced models, actions that the research firm said discouraged some consumers from upgrading devices.
The research note also cited a waning effect from government subsidies that had helped support demand in earlier quarters, removing another source of stimulus for purchases.
Arthur Guo, a senior analyst at IDC China, commented on vendor pricing behavior: "Huawei and Apple held their prices steady while competitors were raising theirs, and that gave hesitant buyers a reason to go ahead and purchase in a quarter when most of the market was giving them a reason to wait."
The combination of elevated component costs and fading subsidy support left many vendors facing a challenging pricing and volume environment in the quarter, with only a small number of brands able to expand shipments while the overall market contracted.
Data points:
- Q2 shipments: 66 million units, down 4.3% year-on-year.
- First-half shipments: down 4.2% year-on-year.
- Huawei shipments: up 19.4%; market share 22.6%.
- Apple shipments: up 24.4%; market share 18.1%.
- Xiaomi shipments: down 21.7% (ranked fifth).
- Oppo shipments: down 9.7%; Vivo shipments: down 11.4%.