China smartphone shipments drop for sixth straight quarter, IDC says
China's smartphone shipments fell 15.4 per cent year on year to 57.9 million units in the third quarter, marking a sixth consecutive quarterly decline, IDC said. Huawei led the market with a 21 per cent share, while Apple and Chinese rivals posted lower shipments amid weak consumer spending.
China's smartphone shipments fell 15.4 per cent year on year to 57.9 million units in the third quarter, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly decline, research firm IDC said on Tuesday.
Huawei was the only major vendor to post double-digit growth, shipping 12.2 million units to lead the market with a 21 per cent share. Apple ranked second with a 17.8 per cent share, though its shipments in China fell 4.3 per cent.
Chinese rivals Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi saw shipments decline by 17.6 per cent, 24.9 per cent and 20.4 per cent, respectively.
The decline comes amid weak consumer spending in China. Over the past few quarters, phone makers have also been hit by rising prices for memory chips and other components, IDC said.
Vendors have been passing higher costs on to consumers, pushing up retail prices even as shipments shrink, said Arthur Guo, a senior analyst at IDC.
IDC said Huawei's broad product lineup and relatively modest price increases helped it extend its run this year. Apple's new iPhones sold better than expected, but having fewer models this year weighed on its shipments.
Honor was the only leading brand whose shipments grew from the previous quarter, which IDC said suggested a possible rebound.