OPPO topped China’s smartphone market in 2016, Apple saw first ever decline

OPPO has topped China’s smartphone market in 2016, according to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC).

IDC is a premier global provider of market intelligence on telecommunication and consumer markets. IDC has released its ‘IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker’ report. According to the statistics, China’s smartphone market observed 19% year over year YoY growth and 17% quarter over quarter QoQ growth in fourth quarter of 2016. The top 3 Chinese Smartphone vendors grabbed nearly half of China’s Market in 2016. Tay X iaohan, a Senior Market Analyst with IDC Asia/Pacific’s Client Devices team, said,

“Increased dependence on mobile apps has led to consumers to seek phone upgrades, thus helping drive the large growth in 2016Q4. In lower tiered cities, there was a similar demand by consumers, which OPPO and Vivo met by aggressively pushing mid-range smartphones in these cities,”

OPPO topped the smartphone market for the first time in Q3 of 2016. Before 2014, Chinese market was mainly driven by Samsung, Lenovo and Coolpad. In 2014-15 Xiaomi disrupted the Chinese market with its flashing phone sales. Samsung and Lenovo didn’t even make it to the tracker’s list in 2016.

OPPO is commonly known for its exquisite smartphones. It has expanded its business to Middle East, South Asia, Africa, America and others. OPPO is famous for its innovative technology and designs like rotating camera to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. OPPO has partnered with some popular names like Football Club Barcelona, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) International Cricket Council (ICC). OPPO is also deepening its roots in Pakistan.

Apple saw first ever decline in smartphone sales in the Chinese market in 2016. Huawei replaced Vivo on the second spot with 22.9% growth in Q4. Xiaomi slipped to 5th position with just 10% growth. Smartphone vendors in China are not relying on just one shipment channel now. It states,

“Most brands are now using a combination of channels to increase their shipments. Xiaomi, previously focused on online channels, has opened more Mi Home stores to drive offline growth. Apple has also been aggressive in increasing its offline retail presence. Some vendors outside the top five vendor list in 2016, e.g. Gionee, also saw good growth in 2016 due to its expansion in the offline channel in the lower tiered cities.”

Chinese vendors are focusing on entering international markets and Huawei is the most successful one in this respect. Also, they are planning to launch more flagship phones with dual cameras, curved screens and augmented reality. Nokia is also entering the competition again. Nokia 6 was sold under a minute right after its launch last month and it plans to introduce more smartphones in 2017.

Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG). It provides insights and global, regional and local market expertise to its business clients. IDG launched the list of Global Top Brands 2016-17 at the Award Ceremony hosted at 50th International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). IDC Tracker products provide accurate information about market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets.