Smartphone shipments to the China market amounted to 58.4 million units in the third quarter of 2022, falling 20.5% from a year ago to a new low since third-quarter 2020 amid China's lockdown restrictions and weakening market demand.
Looking into fourth-quarter 2022, as economic outlook and consumer confidence show no sign of recovery, most smartphone brands will keep making it a priority to lower their channel inventory level. As such, smartphone shipments to the China market are estimated to still show a more than 20% on-year decline in fourth-quarter 2022.
The top-4 Chinese brands - Oppo, Honor, Vivo, and Xiaomi - all experienced an on-year decline in third-quarter 2022 shipments, while Huawei's shipments in the quarter increased sequentially thanks to a low comparison base in the second quarter of 2022 and picked up more than 30% from a year ago.
Table 1: Key factors affecting 2H22 smartphone shipments in China V Supply
Table 2: Key factors affecting 2H22 smartphone shipments in China V Demand
Chart 1: China smartphone market shipments, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 2: China smartphone market shipments - international and local brands, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 3: China smartphone market share - international and local brands, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 4: China smartphone market shipments, by China-based players, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 5: China smartphone market shipment share, by China-based players, 3Q21-4Q22
Chart 6: China smartphone market shipment growth by quarter by China-based players, 3Q21-4Q22
Chart 7: International brand smartphone shipments in China market, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 8: China smartphone market shipments by international brands, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 9: China smartphone market shipment share by international brands, 3Q21-4Q22
Chart 10: China smartphone market quarterly shipment growth by international brands, 3Q21-4Q22
Chart 11: China smartphone market shipments by all vendors, 3Q21-4Q22 (m units)
Chart 12: China smartphone market shipment share by all vendors, 3Q21-4Q22
Chart 13: China telecom carriers' overall subscribers, Apr-Sep 2022 (m users)
Chart 14: China telecom carriers' increased subscriber, Apr-Sep 2022 (m users)
Chart 15: China telecom carriers 5G subscribers, Apr-Sep 2022 (m users)
Chart 16: China telecom carriers' increased 5G subscribers, Apr-Sep 2022 (m users)