Huawei launched the Mate 60 Pro in China, with an advanced chip and 5G connectivity, which U.S. sanctions had been seeking to keep out of Huawei's reach. This phone's success produced a surge in Huawei's sales of smartphones in China of 37% year-on-year, according to Counterpoint Research. Conversely, Honor, the top smartphone manufacturer by market share, had a 3% year-on-year surge, while Vivo, Oppo, and Apple all suffered double-digit decreases, the same study showed.
Huawei's smartphone sales in China rose 37% year-on-year in the third quarter, per a report from Counterpoint Research. This growth has allowed the company to come close to entering the top five smartphone makers by market share in China. It was reported that Huawei currently holds a 12.9% market share in the quarter, which has grown from 9.1% in the same time last year. This increase can be attributed to the release of their surprisingly advanced chip-equipped smartphone.
Honor experienced a 3% year-on-year upturn in sales, despite Vivo, Oppo and Apple having experienced double-digit declines, as determined by Counterpoint Research, although the exact number of units sold was not disclosed. Sanctions imposed by the United States of America in 2019 had a particularly damaging impact on Huawei, the primary manufacturer of Kirin chipset, causing the firm to lose its place as the world's biggest smartphone maker and denying them access to core technologies for 5G. This had the consequence of rendering Huawei phones out of favour with consumers.
In September, Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro phone in China, featuring a state-of-the-art 7 nanometer chip and 5G connectivity - technologies that U.S. sanctions were attempting to stop the company from obtaining. This caused Chinese consumers to take a great interest in the device, leading to Huawei selling 1.6 million units in the first six weeks. This device has helped give the company a boost. Ivan Lam of Counterpoint Research commented in a press release, "It has made a huge splash in the market, contributing significantly to Huawei's smartphone sales growth" in the third quarter.
For a time, Huawei was the only competitor to Apple in the high-end segment of the Chinese smartphone market. Now, analysts believe it could pose a new challenge to Apple in that country, while at the same time taking away market share from other players and moving back into the top five. Canalys Research Analyst Lucas Zhong said, "If Huawei expands the new Kirin chipset into its low-to-mid-range portfolio in the future, it has the potential to disrupt the competitive dynamic among leading vendors."
Canalys data shows that shipments of smartphones in China dropped 14% year-on-year in 2022, due to the stringent Covid-19 restrictions and weak consumer spending. Shipments for the third quarter of this year fell by 5%, indicating that the worst could be over. According to Canalys, the market was bottomed out in 2023 and is likely to experience a gradual demand recovery.
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