According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, China smartphone shipments grew 17 percent annually to reach 110 million units in the first quarter of 2015. Xiaomi maintained first position, but Apple is rapidly closing the gap with 12 percent market share in second place.
Linda Sui, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “China smartphone shipments grew 17 percent annually from 93.6 million units in Q1 2014 to a 109.8 million in Q1 2015. China smartphone growth on an annualized basis has slowed from 39 percent to 17 percent during the past year, due to increasing penetration maturity. This is the first quarter that China’s smartphone annual growth rate has been lower than the global average since 2010.”
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Xiaomi shipped 14.0 million smartphones and captured 13 percent marketshare in China during Q1 2015, increasing from 11 percent a year earlier. Xiaomi has maintained the number one smartphone position in China for three quarters in a row, due to solid demand for its popular Redmi models. However, Xiaomi’s rapid growth is now coming to an end, and it has delivered negative sequential growth in China for the past two quarters. By contrast, Apple is growing swiftly in China at the moment. Apple shipped 13.5 million iPhones in China during Q1 2015, holding its ranking as the number two smartphone vendor for the second straight quarter. Apple captured 12 percent share in China in Q1 2015 and it has narrowed the marketshare gap with Xiaomi to less than one percent. Apple’s new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models are proving wildly popular with Chinese consumers and, if current trends continue, Apple could become China’s largest smartphone vendor in the second half of this year.”
Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Huawei shipped 11.2 million smartphones and held on to third position with 10 percent marketshare in China in Q1 2015, rising steadily from 9 percent a year ago. The Mate7, Ascend P6 and Honor series are among the main smartphone models driving Huawei’s growth. Huawei has significantly improved its product design and successfully expanded its online retail presence in China this year, enabling it to become a major smartphone player in the country.”
Exhibit 1: China Smartphone Vendor Shipments and Marketshare in Q1 2015 1
|
China Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units) |
Q1 ’14 |
Q2 ’14 |
Q3 ’14 |
Q4 ’14 |
Q1 ’15 |
|
Xiaomi |
10.6 |
14.5 |
17.0 |
15.7 |
14.0 |
|
Apple |
7.8 |
5.0 |
4.9 |
13.4 |
13.5 |
|
Huawei |
8.0 |
11.9 |
9.6 |
11.9 |
11.2 |
|
Others |
67.2 |
70.6 |
73.5 |
82.0 |
71.1 |
|
Total |
93.6 |
102.0 |
105.0 |
123.0 |
109.8 |
|
China Smartphone Vendor Marketshare (%) |
Q1 ’14 |
Q2 ’14 |
Q3 ’14 |
Q4 ’14 |
Q1 ’15 |
|
Xiaomi |
11.3% |
14.2% |
16.2% |
12.8% |
12.8% |
|
Apple |
8.3% |
4.9% |
4.7% |
10.9% |
12.3% |
|
Huawei |
8.5% |
11.6% |
9.1% |
9.7% |
10.2% |
|
Others |
71.9% |
69.3% |
70.0% |
66.6% |
64.7% |
|
Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
|
Total Growth: Year-over-Year (%) |
38.9% |
29.4% |
31.9% |
34.7% |
17.3% |
|
Source: Strategy Analytics |
The full report, China Smartphone Vendor & OS Marketshare in Q1 2015, is published by the Strategy Analytics Handset Country Share Tracker (HCST) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/le4rut3.
