Mobile World Live
Research company IDC cited problems in Huawei’s supply chain, weak consumer demand, and delays in the launch of major flagship handsets for a 14 percent year-on-year drop in Q3 smartphone shipments in China.
In a statement, the analyst company’s research manager for client devices in APAC Will Wong noted escalated US trade restrictions on Huawei imposed in August had “ultimately impeded progress in its home market”.
Discussing the performance of Huawei, which still leads the market by a massive margin, IDC said supply chain constraints lowered production of some of its popular models and led to prioritising availability to certain parts of the country.
Away from the market leader’s direct supply chain issues, the analyst company also pointed to the delay of the vendor’s flagship Mate40 series, alongside Apple’s latest iPhone, until Q4 for hampering overall shipment figures for the quarter.
In Q3 smartphone shipments in China dipped 14 per cent year-on-year to 84.8 million. During the same period Huawei’s figures slipped 15.5 per cent to 35.1 million, though its market share remained above 41 per cent.
China’s second largest provider, Vivo shipped 15 million (down 16.9 per cent), with Oppo down 14.2 per cent to 14.1 million. Xiaomi were the only member of the top five to see an increase, with a 13.4 per cent jump in sales to 11 million. Apple were next best with a 13.1 per cent drop, shipping 7 million devices.
The order of the top five was unchanged compared to Q3 2019.
Of China’s smartphone shipments during the quarter, IDC said almost 50 million were handsets compatible with 5G with Huawei also leading this segment of the market.
