Counterpoint: China smartphone sales declined 22% in Q1, Huawei extends lead

According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, smartphone sales in China experienced the roughest quarter in recent memory, dropping by 22% compared to Q1 2019 values. As expected the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the main reason for weak demand as shipments in February alone declined by 35% YoY. At the same time, tge share of online sales grew to 50%, up from 30% last year.

Huawei was the only OEM to stay afloat during the period with a 6% increase in sales. Apple saw a mere 1% decline while vivo (-27%), Oppo (-30%) and Xiaomi (-35%) suffered significant setbacks. In terms of market share, the abovementioned companies accounted for 93% of total sales with Huawei alone holding a near 40% share.

The iPhone 11 was the best selling device for the January – February period, marking the seventh consecutive month it reigned supreme. Huawei’s Mate 30 5G, nova 6 series and Honor’s 9X were the other best sellers for the period.

As a whole 5G phone shipments saw a 120% increase compared last year and now account for 15% of all smartphones. Over half of all 5G phones shipped in Q1 2020 were Huawei-made. Oppo, vivo and Xiaomi were the other leading 5G smartphone companies. Counterpoint predicts that 5G phones will account for 40% of the market by the end of Q4 2020.

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