Foldable phones help this brand beat Apple in the world’s biggest smartphone market – Times of India

Apple is one of the big names in the smartphone to notably not have a foldable device in its lineup. Samsung, Xiaomi, Google, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, Honor all have a foldable phone or two. OnePlus is the other exception but it is expected to launch a foldable phone next month. The lack of a foldable phone may have been one of the reasons behind Apple losing the top spot in China — the world’s largest phone market. According to a report by Canalys, Vivo emerged as the number one brand in the second quarter of 2023.

“The recently launched foldable phones, such as the Honor Magic V2, vivo X Fold2 and Huawei Mate X3, have ignited significant interest from channels and consumers around new form factors and use cases,” said Amber Liu, Canalys analyst.

China’s smartphone market declines

According to Canalys estimates, smartphone shipments in China dropped by 5% year-on-year. The total number of smartphones shipped in Q2 2023 stood at 64.3 million units. It was Vivo that emerged as the number one brand in China with 18% market share by shipping 11.4 million units. Oppo — which includes OnePlus shipments as well — was in the second spot following Vivo closely with an 18% market share, “driven by solid online performance and improved channel capabilities,” as per Canalys.
Apple was the number one brand in the previous quarter had to settle for third spot with 16% market share and 10.4 million iPhones shipped. Honor shipped 10.3 million shipments and gained snared 16% market share whereas Xiaomi was in the fifth spotwith 13% market share. Apple and Huawei have achieved impressive year-on-year growth with their flagship devices, indicating solid and sustained high-end demand, added Liu.
“The smartphone market in Mainland China is entering a new stage of competition,” said Toby Zhu, Canalys analyst. “The market will likely recover moderately in the second half of 2023,” he added.