On February 17, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology released an analysis report on the operation of the domestic mobile phone market. On the whole, domestic mobile phone shipments in January 2022 were 33.022 million units, down 17.7% year-on-year. Among them, 5G mobile phone shipments were 26.324 million units, down 3.5% year-on-year.
Data from the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology
In terms of brand composition, domestic brand mobile phone shipments in January 2022 were 25.652 million units, down 24% year-on-year, accounting for 77.7% of mobile phone shipments in the same period; there were 26 new models listed, down 48% year-on-year, accounting for 86.7% of the number of new mobile phone models listed in the same period.
Combined with the fourth quarter of 2021, how did each brand perform in the Chinese mobile phone market? Recently, some global industry analysts have released a report that can be glimpsed in one or two.
Apple ranks first in market share
Honor's debut on Android second performance is eye-catching
Recently, Counterpoint, a global industry analyst organization, released its latest research report. According to the data, in the fourth quarter of 2021, Apple performed strongly in the Chinese market, with a market share of 21.7%, ranking first. Analysts at Counterpoint believe that Apple's success has been forced to give up market share in high-end mobile phones, and its pricing strategy is also one of the reasons for its performance. "Apple's new products, with new cameras and 5G capabilities, and a relatively low starting price when they hit the market in China, are the catalyst for this success."
In addition, Honor's performance this time is also very eye-catching. After independence from Huawei, Honor won the second place with a market share of 17%, becoming the first of the Android camp for the first time, doubling from the same period last year. Counterpoint analysts predict that glory will grow by more than 40% in 2022.
In addition, OPPO, vivo, and xiaomi ranked third, fourth, and fifth, with a share of 16.6%, 16.5% and 16.1% respectively, while Huawei, Samsung, Meizu and other brands were others, accounting for a total of 12.4% of the share.
Counterpoint data. (Note: In the statistics, OPPO includes OnePlus in the third quarter of 2021 and the fourth quarter of 2021, vivo includes iQOO, and Xiaomi includes Redmi.) ）
The "arms race" in the high-end market is competing for upgrades
The global layout of domestic mobile phone brands continues to increase
However, although the overall shipment volume in the Chinese market has declined in 2021, after Huawei was forced to withdraw, the competition in China's mobile phone market has intensified, and major mobile phone brand manufacturers are continuing to expand their high-end product matrix.
Taking the folding screen mobile phones that various brands are scrambling to layout as an example, just entering 2022, Honor released a new folding screen mobile phone on January 10, becoming the third smartphone manufacturer to release a new folding screen in the past month or so. Previously, in December 2021, OPPO and Huawei have successively released the latest folding screen products.
Analysts believe that major mobile phone brands continue to increase the competition for high-end smartphones, and the Android camp will continue to launch more high-end smartphones this year, which is expected to regain part of the high-end market share from Apple.
Even if the competition of various brands to impact the high-end market intensifies, the data shows that consumers still have many unmet needs in many areas such as folding screens, and there is still new room for growth in the mobile phone market. A survey report from the panel supply chain research and adjustment agency DSCC also shows that it is expected that the folding screen mobile phone market will usher in explosive growth this year.
In addition to the Chinese market, brands such as Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO, and Vivo are also bringing their own high-end products to the international stage. The report shows that the Western European market has a large number of high-end smartphone user groups, and the region will become a key overseas market for domestic brands to lay out high-end products.
The upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in March 2022, is a golden opportunity for brands to debut in the European market. At that time, mobile phone brands including Honor, vivo and OPPO will bring the latest high-end products and cutting-edge technology to the MWC.
Written by: Nandu reporter Yan Zhaoxin