What Display Daily thinks: It is the cold war that dares not mention its name. US policy towards Chinese technology companies or South Korea’s entrenchment on display technologies versus Chinese panel makers? A bit of both, really. Conflict, even one that is not open, tends to toughen people up. China’s technology industry was tough enough already, and it’s getting tougher as it staves of isolation from higher tech and foreign markets.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in the smartphone market where local companies are so dominant that not even Apple can make a stand. In fact, Apple is getting its butt handed to it in the market, at least in so far as a multi-trillion dollar company can take a hit.
So, the world’s biggest consumer market is dominated by home grown brands and they are going to be increasingly supplied by homegrown display manufacturers, and then they are going to leverage all that mass production to build up sales everywhere else. It’s not TVs, or IT products, that are shaping the future of the display industry, its smartphone screens. Sure, the acreage of displays is not comparable to TVs, but that’s okay.
Once you get the smartphone market then everything else will flow in good time. Chinese panel makers are going to get the smartphone market. So, it’s Apple and Samsung versus the Chinese phone makers. Apple’s going to work with suppliers wherever it wants so it’s kind of a neutral zone, and will probably have to figure out a way to get back into the good graces of the Chinese market, which means that we are about 24 months away from Chinese display manufacturers being bigger suppliers of screens to Apple than South Koreans.
It is very unlikely the Apple is going to come up with the next iPhone moment. It is also powerful enough to shift political perceptions and open its own paths into China. It will also want to make nice and do deals to remain competitive and accepted in the Chinese market. That’s the threat to South Korea’s display industry.
Judging by these numbers, it’s still an early stage recovery for the Chinese smartphone market. Just you wait for when things really heat up. China’s going to have a lot of leverage. A lot.
The Chinese Smartphone Market Grows in Q1’24
Well, yes, this is a whole bunch of data, but I thought it might be fun to juxtapose the reports on the Chinese smartphone market from IDC and Canalys. And yes, I did want to use the word juxtapose in a sentence and get it right this time.
You can always play a game here and guess who IDC’s and Canalys’ biggest clients are for these reports. A little more foot on the neck of the competitor, and a little more rose in the rose-colored glasses for the client. So, go ahead, have some fun playing Analyst Rumble!
To make it easier, I summarized the insights from each analyst, subjective as that may be.
| Category | IDC Insights | Canalys Insights |
|---|---|---|
| Market Growth and Shipments | 6.5% growth; 69.3 million units shipped. | Rebound after two years; 67.7 million units shipped. |
| Leadership and Market Share | Honor and Huawei drive growth; Honor tops due to Magic 6 series, Huawei ties. | Huawei leads with 17% market share, driven by Mate and nova series; OPPO is second, and Honor is third. |
| Apple’s Performance | Apple shipments declined by 6.6% due to strong competition from Android brands. | Apple ranks fifth with a 25% year-on-year decrease, the most significant decline among top brands. |
| Technological and Strategic Highlights | Interest in AI and foldables among Android brands. | Extensive focus on AI capabilities; Huawei leads with innovations like the Pura 70’s pop-out camera; Gen AI-capable smartphones growing, led by Xiaomi. |
| Market Outlook and Consumer Trends | Continuous innovation needed to maintain customer loyalty amidst tight competition. | Emphasizes innovation, AI integration, and multi-channel management; forecasts modest overall market growth at 1% for 2024; highlights the strategic importance of AI in differentiation. |
The rest is pretty pictures and tables. They are all pretty self-explanatory, and frankly, not that different which is nice to know because it might actually be the state of the market and not educated guesswork.
Source: IDC
| Brand | Q1 2024 Shipments (million) | Q1 2024 Market Share | Q1 2023 Shipments (million) | Q1 2023 Market Share | Annual Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huawei | 11.7 | 17% | 6.8 | 10% | 70% |
| Oppo | 10.9 | 16% | 12.6 | 19% | -14% |
| Honor | 10.6 | 16% | 9.7 | 14% | 9% |
| vivo | 10.3 | 15% | 11.3 | 17% | -9% |
| Apple | 10.0 | 15% | 13.3 | 20% | -25% |
| Others | 14.2 | 21% | 13.8 | 20% | 3% |
| Total | 67.7 | 100% | 67.6 | 100% | 0% |
