The Chinese smartphone market will grow for the first time in 5 years

China’s smartphone market will grow for the first time in five years, following a 3 percent increase in the third quarter.

The warm market response, along with increased domestic demand and government initiatives to stimulate the economy, has increased competition among major smartphone manufacturers.

In the past two weeks, smartphone makers such as Honor, Huawei, OPPO and Xiaomi have unveiled 5G devices with artificial intelligence capabilities, as well as upgraded cameras, chips and batteries, with two or three new products launched on the same day. . They are targeting a fast-growing market in the fourth quarter, boosted by Singles’ Day, the world’s largest online shopping event.

China’s smartphone shipments increased 3.2 percent year-on-year to 68.8 million units in the third quarter, according to International Data Corp or the latest IDC report, as “a significant wave of device upgrades fuels a robust recovery in the Chinese smartphone market.” .

IDC included Vivo, Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi and Honor among the top five manufacturers, while Counterpoint Research excluded Apple from the top five domestic rankings and included Vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor and OPPO in the top five.

OnePlus, celebrating its 10th anniversary, unveiled its new flagship model, the OnePlus 13, on Thursday in Beijing. It comes with a Snapdragon processor, eSports optimization and an eye-pleasing display. It goes on sale today for RMB 4,499 ($642).

On Wednesday, Honor announced its new flagship model Magic 7, which features artificial intelligence optimizations for system, camera, connectivity and battery management. The company said the phone has achieved “L3” autonomy level, which is the highest level in the industry, similar to L1-L5 levels used in autonomous driving. The smartphone will go on sale from November 8 at a starting price of 5,699 yuan.

“The greatest magic of today’s world is artificial intelligence,” said Honor CEO Zhao Ming. “We think artificial intelligence will change the smartphone industry.”

On Wednesday, the same day Honor launched the Magic 7, iQOO, a subsidiary of market leader Vivo, also unveiled the new iQOO 13. It represents a fierce rivalry between major smartphone vendors.

Last week, OPPO also unveiled its flagship Find X8, which comes with its own AI features, a new battery design and improved telescopic camera capabilities. It sells from 4199 yuan.

“We do not include artificial intelligence features and components in smartphones,” said Peter Liu, OPPO’s chief product officer. “We designed it with the most suitable and necessary features for customers.”

The government’s initiatives to boost consumption and the Singles’ Day celebrations, which will continue until November 11, are believed to boost domestic sales in 2024.

In an effort to boost consumption, China has introduced a number of measures regarding the purchase of smartphones and home appliances.

Certain technologies, home appliances and home decor items can be purchased in Shanghai with a trade-in subsidy of up to 2,000 yuan, or 15 percent.

For the fourth quarter, IDC predicts that the favorable growth trend will continue as “the momentum will be supported by early launches of flagship models from leading brands, as well as the early start of the Singles’ Day shopping festival.”