Huawei holds first place while Xiaomi climbs to fourth as Chinese smartphone shipments fall 3% year on year

After six consecutive quarters of growth, Chinese smartphone shipments fell 3% to 113 million in Q2 2017. Huawei shipped over 23 million to lead the market for the second quarter in a row. Oppo shipped just over 21 million and had to settle for second place, despite growing 37% year on year. Vivo held onto third place, shipping just over 16 million, losing ground on the leading pair during the quarter.

Xiaomi was the standout vendor as it overtook Apple to take fourth place. It shipped just under 15 million smartphones in China, up more than 60% sequentially.

“Xiaomi still offers the best value in the Chinese market, and it remains the preferred choice for price-conscious consumers. The online channel continues to be a key route to market for Xiaomi and this quarter saw it take the lead in the 618 online sales events across online retail platforms, such as JD.com and Tmall,” said Canalys Research Analyst Lucio Chen. “Redmi has had strong uptake in the mid-tier, going head to head with Oppo’s A series and Vivo’s Y series. Xiaomi’s growing network of ‘experience stores’ will pose a threat to Oppo’s and Vivo’s offline dominance, while showcasing the design and build quality of its devices.”

The rest of the top ten, including Apple, Samsung and Meizu, all suffered annual shipment declines this quarter. “China’s smartphone market continues to consolidate. The top five brands accounted for almost three quarters of shipments, with the top four all growing and adding 10% to their cumulative share compared with the same quarter a year ago. Adopting a diverse channel strategy is key to success in China, as competition has intensified in online and offline channels, resulting in many vendors losing market share quickly,” said Canalys Research Analyst Hattie He. “Huawei and Xiaomi have strong online brands, and are now rapidly growing their offline channels. Oppo and Vivo face greater pressure on their mid-range from Redmi and Honor. The failure to establish online channels will slow the momentum of these rising stars.”

Smartphone quarterly estimate and forecast data is taken from Canalys’ Smartphone Analysis service.