Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter of 2013 reached around 87.4 million units, up 13.4% sequentially. Overall, Chinese smartphone sales totaled around 230.5 million units in the first three quarters of 2013, up 93.3% year on year. It is projected that the overall smartphone sales will stand at or over 320 million units in full year 2013.
Looking at market share by branded vendors, international brands – Samsung, Apple, and HTC all saw declines in market share in the third quarter of 2013. As for Chinese branded vendors, Lenovo posted the highest market share of 13.7%, further narrowing its gap between the market leader, Samsung to less than five percentage points.
Highlights of each vendor’s status:
Samsung: In the third quarter of 2013, Samsung continued to lead the Chinese smartphone market with the largest market share of 18.3%. Compared to the same period in 2012, its sales volume nearly doubled.
Apple: Apple was barely able to hold its market share in China in the third quarter of 2013 with the launch of iPhone 5S and 5C in September last year. The iPhone 5S and 5C have been granted access licenses by China's MIIT and will be sold by Apple's first-time partner China Mobile, along with other partners. China Mobile's enormous subscriber base is anticipated to stimulate a significant growth in Apple's market share in China.
Lenovo: Lenovo's share in the Chinese smartphone market has reached 13.7%, only second to Samsung's 18.3%. Since the three major Chinese telecom operators have a great influence over the local market, a good relationship with them plays a crucial role to Lenovo, who depends heavily on telecom operators' distribution channels.
Huawei: As a late comer in the branded smartphone business, Huawei has garnered 9.1% of the Chinese smartphone market and 4.7% of the worldwide market in the third quarter of 2013, ranking fourth globally behind Samsung, Apple, and Lenovo.
HTC: HTC targets mainly at the mid-range and high-end smartphone market segments. With its goal to build brand image, HTC is yet to have any deployment strategy for the entry-level segment. To secure its market share of smartphones priced at or over 4,000 RMB, HTC has continued to launch new Butterfly and One series.
Xiaomi: Xiaomi used to release a flagship product every six months or so. In mid-2013, Xiaomi launched two smartphones, namely the flagship MI3 and a value-line model Hongmi. Both smartphones embodied Xiaomi's core value proposition: high specs at an affordable price.
Chinese Smartphone Market Volume, 1Q 2011 - 3Q 2013
Million Units
Source: MIC, January 2013
To see more about this report, please visit: Chinese Smartphone Market Development, 4Q 2013
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