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What will China's mobile phone market look like in the second quarter of 2023?
The mobile phone market has always been a bellwether for the tech industry, and in the second quarter of 2023 in China, this bellwether is quietly turning. Recently, International Data Corporation released a quarterly mobile phone tracking report, revealing changes that have attracted the attention of the industry.
Data show that in the second quarter of 2023, China's smartphone market shipped about 65.7 million units, down 2.1% year-on-year, and the decline was significantly narrowed.
Shipments in the first half of the year were approximately 130 million units, down 7.4% y/y. This change in numbers has aroused widespread attention in the industry.
However, what is more interesting is that throughout the "618 mid-year promotion period", despite the double preferential subsidies launched by mobile phone manufacturers and e-commerce platforms, and the strength is large, smartphone sales still fell by more than 5% year-on-year. This means that despite the strong promotion, China's smartphone market is still at a low ebb, consumer demand continues to be sluggish, and the market performance is not satisfactory.
IDC data shows that the top five smartphone manufacturers in China in the second quarter of 2023 are OPPO, vivo, honor, Apple, Xiaomi and Huawei.
The overall pattern has not changed much, and it is basically "Huami OV+ Apple". However, it is interesting to note that the top five with a year-on-year decline of more than 10% are vivo, honor and Xiaomi, of which honor and Xiaomi have a larger decline; The year-on-year increase is Apple and Huawei, Huawei can be described as a strong return, which has triggered new thinking about market competition in the industry.
Although the overall market of China's smartphones is in a sluggish state, from the perspective of price segment share, the high-end mobile phone market above $600 is less affected. IDC data shows that the market share of high-end mobile phones over $600 in China was 23.1% in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 3.1 percentage points compared with the same period in 2022.
This is mainly because domestic brands adhere to the high-end route, and mainstream mobile phone manufacturers have successively launched a "straight screen + folding screen" dual flagship layout, injecting new vitality into the high-end market.
Next, we will conduct an in-depth analysis of the specific models of the six brands and the related sales to reveal more details and trends in the Chinese mobile phone market.
OPPO: Find N2 Flip performed well, and sub-brand OnePlus maintained high growth.
vivo chapter: vivo X80 series equipped with Dimensity 9000 shows strong momentum, and sub-brand iQOO continues to maintain its attractiveness.
Honor: The product line of Honor mobile phones is relatively clear, and many representative products have entered the Top5 list of Jingdong 618 price ranges.
Apple: The flexible island of the iPhone 14 Pro series has brought Apple a differentiated appearance, and the price discount is strong.
Xiaomi: Xiaomi is determined to hit the high-end market, cooperate with Leica to enhance the added value of products, and successfully gain recognition in the high-end market.
Huawei: The rhythm of new product releases returned to normal, market share returned, and the excellent performance of the P60 series and folding screen Mate X3.
These brands have shown competitiveness in different fields, and with the continuous development of AI technology, the smartphone market will also usher in a new cycle of innovation competition. In this rapidly changing market, consumers will pay more attention to factors such as appearance, price, photo and video effects, which will be the key factors for future competition in the mobile phone market.
It is worth mentioning that the development trend of China's smartphone market will always be closely watched by us, because this is not only related to the fate of enterprises, but also to the choice of consumers. In the future, let's wait and see what new changes will happen in China's smartphone market.