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Chinese smartphone shipments have plunged, but Xiaomi is surging
August 15, 2025
The Chinesesmartphonemarket saw its first ever annual decline in 2017, as shipments dropped four percent, according to research firmCanalys. It looks like the trend is going to continue in 2018, as shipments sunk by a massive 21 percent in the first quarter compared to Q1, 2017.
Huaweimanaged to eke out growth of two percent to maintain the top spot, while second and third placedOppoandVivosaw shipments drop by 10 percent,Canalysreported.
Xiaomi, however, was a star performer having grown shipments by a massive 37 percent year-on-year. The brand’s strong performance pushedAppleback down to fifth place, after the Cupertino company took the fourth spot in 2017.
Xiaomi was the only brand in the top five to focus on the sub-1000 yuan (~$160) category, Canalyst analyst (say that three times) Hattie He said. It’s thought that “close to 90 percent” of Xiaomi’s shipments were due to the cheapRedmirange.
The top four brands account for an estimated 73 percent of the market. When you include Apple, that means that manufacturers outside the top five are duking it out for 19 percent. The research firm noted that this figure stood at 34 percent a year ago, illustrating the rapid consolidation taking place.
The competition thus makes for a major threat to less prominent homegrown players such asGioneeandMeizu, let alone the likes ofOukitel,LeEcoandUlefone. But massive international players are feeling the heat too. In fact, in addition to Gionee and Meizu,Samsung‘s shipments are also is thought to have shrunk to less than half of what they were in Q1 2017.
The stiff competition has resulted in brands copying marketing strategies and device lineups, analyst Mo Jia said. Only manufacturers of “a certain size” are able to cope with the marketing and distribution costs, though.
Research suggests that Q2 could be better due to new flagship releases, but further copycat designs are expected to introduce a period of “stagnancy.” Manufacturers may have to increase R&D efforts to make headway in the market.
We’ve already seen some OEMs take this route, such as vivo and itsX20 Plus UDsmartphone, featuring an under-display fingerprint scanner. Then there’s HUAWEI and its triple camera-totingP20 Pro. But are premium features the way to go when the sub-1000 yuan category is what’s proving so fruitful? Wouldn’t more diversity at the lower-end be the better option? Give us your thoughts in the comments.
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