Smartphone shipments in the China market decreased 17% on year to 28.6 million units in June, with 5G models accounting for 17.5 million units or 61% of overall shipments in the month, according to media reports in China.
For the first half of 2020, sales of smartphones in China reached 150 million units, decreasing 18% from a year. Among them, 5G models accounted for 64 million units or 42.67%, with Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and Vivo being the top-four vendors.
Shipments of 5G models will be ramped up significantly in China in third-quarter 2020 as local handset brands are set to launch a number of flagship models cashing in on an easing of the coronavirus impacts that has brought consumers back to the end market, said the reports.
Although the 5G sector is still in its early stage of development, prices of 5G-enabled end-market devices have been falling rapidly in China with vendors including Huawei and Xiaomi being keen on price competition.
As the average price of the entry-level 5G phones is currently about CNY1,500 (US$214) and may dip further, shipments of 5G models in China are expected to top 100 million units in September 2020 at the earliest, according to industry observers.
Article translated by Steve Shen
