Huang Haifeng’s Communication Life
Recently, Counterpoint released data on the Chinese smartphone market for the first quarter of 2024, showing a 1.5% year-on-year increase in smartphone sales in China. This marks the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.
Here is the ranking of specific manufacturers:
vivo:
In the first quarter of 2024, vivo held a market share of 14.4%, ranking first. This represents a 0.4% year-on-year decrease compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Vivo secured the top spot this quarter with 17.4% market share, driven by strong sales of the low-end models Y35 Plus and Y36, as well as the mid-range model S18. For example, the vivo Y35 is equipped with the 7nm MediaTek Dimensity 6020 chipset, offering 2×2.2 GHz speeds and Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. The three versions of the phone are priced at 1399 yuan for 6+128GB, 1599 yuan for 8+128GB, and 1799 yuan for 8+256GB.
Honor:
In the first quarter of 2024, Honor held a market share of 16.1%, ranking second. This reflects an 11.5% year-on-year increase compared to the first quarter of 2023.
The growth in Honor’s market share is attributed to the Honor X50 and the Honor Play 40. The Honor X50 features the first-gen Snapdragon 6 series platform with an eight-core CPU (4xA78 2.2GHz + 4xA55 1.8GHz) and Adreno 710 GPU, along with a 108MP primary camera and a 2MP auxiliary camera.
The Honor Play 40 is equipped with the Snapdragon 480+ chipset, a 13MP primary rear camera that supports 1080p video recording, and a 2MP depth sensor.
Apple:
In the first quarter of 2024, Apple held a market share of 15.7%, ranking third. This marks a 19.1% year-on-year decrease compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Huawei:
In the first quarter of 2024, Huawei held a market share of 15.5%, ranking fourth. This reflects a significant 69.7% year-on-year increase compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Huawei’s rapid market share growth is mainly attributed to the 5G-supported Mate60 series. According to the market research agency QuestMobile, the combined activations of Huawei Mate 60 Pro and Huawei Mate 60 have reached 17.33 million units, with Mate 60 Pro alone reaching 12.832 million activations.
OPPO:
In the first quarter of 2024, OPPO held a market share of 15.3%, ranking fifth. This signifies a 15.5% year-on-year decrease compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Xiaomi:
In the first quarter of 2024, Xiaomi held a market share of 14.6%, ranking sixth. This represents an 8.6% year-on-year increase compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Looking ahead to the future of the Chinese smartphone market, Counterpoint Research estimates that the year-on-year growth rate in 2024 will be in single digits. The emergence of generative AI has enabled Chinese original equipment manufacturers to integrate these functions into their flagship devices.
Analysis: A New Era for the Smartphone Market
According to “Haifeng’s Tech Watch,” in 2024, the leading manufacturers in the Chinese smartphone market will further dominate market share. This is due to the mainstream adoption of generative AI in smartphones, placing higher demands on manufacturers’ software capabilities. Therefore, top manufacturers with stronger research and development capabilities will have a competitive edge.
Additionally, Huawei is expected to maintain its rapid growth trajectory. With the release of the Huawei Pura 70 series, featuring the more powerful Kirin 9010 chipset, the upgrade of satellite communication from Beidou satellite to dual satellite communication, innovative technologies such as ultra-fast snapshots and super-macro long-focus shooting, Huawei is set to become the new focus in the smartphone market.
HarmonyOS NEXT is also set to be launched this year. According to official Huawei sources, the HarmonyOS NEXT Milky Way edition will release a consumer version in the fourth quarter of this year. This release will further enhance Huawei’s smartphone performance and competitive advantage, once again pitting Huawei against Apple in the high-end market.
