According to Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse Service, smartphone sales in China fell 14.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2022. Honor reportedly doubled its mobile phone sales in the same period, making it the only brand to report a YoY increase. Chinese phone brand Realme reportedly saw a 44.3 percent YoY decline. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, sales in China are down 12.6 percent. The report added that the last time smartphone sales in China were down was in the fourth quarter of 2012.
According to a report According to Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse Service, smartphone sales in China are at a near-decade low. YoY sales in the Southeast Asian country fell 14.2 percent in the second quarter of this year. The last time sales were below this level was in the fourth quarter of 2012, when the iPhone 5 was launched. This quarter, sales are reportedly down 12.6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2020.
According to Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint, smartphone sales are expected to recover in the next quarter given the low sales volume for Q2 (second quarter) of 2022. He also said that it may be difficult to improve the situation in the second half compared to last year.
While the sector as a whole has seen a decline, Honor is the only brand that saw a YoY increase in smartphone sales. According to the report, this can be attributed to the company expanding its offline presence in China. The company is said to have doubled its YoY smartphone sales in the quarter.
Research analyst at the company, Mengmeng Zhang, said that Vivo maintained its leadership during the quarter. “The mid-to-high-end S12 series helped Vivo gain a good share in the $250-$399 (approximately Rs. 19,900 – Rs. 31,800) segment. Sub-brand iQOO also received positive feedback from the market, especially from younger customers,” he said. As per the report, Realme saw a 44.3 percent decline in sales in China.
Meanwhile, Apple’s sales are reported to be relatively good, buoyed by the iPhone 13 series in Q2 2022 in China. Xiaomi saw a surge in sales in June due to the Redmi K50 and Note 11 series.
According to the Counterpoint report, sales of foldable smartphones in the first half of 2022 are higher than in 2021. Huawei is the market leader in the second half of 2022, followed by Samsung and Oppo.
