Canalys estimates that for the full year 2016, China reached 476.5 million unit shipments, growing year on year at 11.4%. This swept away the annual growth rate of 1.9% in 2015. China shipments reached 131.6 million units in Q416, which is the highest single quarter total in history, accounting for nearly a third of worldwide shipments.

Canalys research shows that, in 2016, Huawei took the top spot in the market with 76.2 million shipments, a small lead ahead of runner-up Oppo with 73.2 million units, followed by Vivo in third place at 63.2 million units. The smartphone market recovery was driven by several factors. Leading domestic manufacturers Huawei, Oppo and Vivo invested heavily in new product and channel developments. Canalys Research Analyst Jessie Ding said “In 2016, the top three brands were competing with new product launches, go-to-market strategies and brand building. Also, their flagship products started to contribute to a much larger part of their total shipments and created a halo effect for the rest of the portfolio, like Samsung and Apple.”

While Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi are all in the process of adjusting their strategies in China, Huawei took the opportunity to consolidate its position in the tier-one and tier-two cities. Ding noted that, meanwhile, “Huawei also began attacking Oppo and Vivo’s backyard in the tier-three and tier-four cities, through its “thousands of towns”, targeting open channels.”  Conversely, Oppo and Vivo started to move upscale to target consumers in the tier-one and tier-two cities through heavy investments in branding. Ding added, “In 2017, competition between Huawei, Oppo and Vivo will become much more intense, while their increasing scale and bargaining power within the industry will have a larger impact on device strategies of operators and open channel partners. This will leave very little room for smaller brands to increase share. Moreover, among these three vendors, it will be difficult for one of them to capture more than 20.0% market share and be a clear leader under current competitive conditions.”

Xiaomi became number four in the China smartphone market, while Apple fell to fifth place. Xiaomi shipped a total of 51.4 million units of smartphones with a 21.0% year-on-year decline, while its market share decreased from 15.2% in 2015 to 10.7% in 2016, the lowest since 2013. Apple shipped 43.8 million units of iPhones throughout the year, a year-on-year decrease of 18.2%. "China and Hong Kong are still the hardest-hit areas in Apple's global top ten market. This directly led to a 7.0% decline in global shipments compared to 2015."  Ding commented, “This year, the outlook remains bleak for Apple to get its China performance back to its heyday of 2015. As with consumers in other developed markets, China’s consumers are awaiting the 10th anniversary of the iPhone with very high expectations.”

For more information, please contact:

  • Canalys EMEA: +44 118 984 0520

Ben Stanton: ben_stanton@canalys.com +44 118 984 0525
Tim Coulling: tim_coulling@canalys.com +44 118 984 0533

  • Canalys APAC (Shanghai): +86 21 2225 2888

Nicole Peng: nicole_peng@canalys.com +86 21 2225 2815
Mo Jia: mo_jia@canalys.com +86 21 2225 2812

  • Canalys APAC (Singapore): +65 6671 9399

Rushabh Doshi: rushabh_doshi@canalys.com +65 6671 9387
Ishan Dutt: ishan_dutt@canalys.com +65 6671 9396

  • Canalys Americas: +1 650 681 4488

Chris Jones: chris_jones@canalys.com +1 650 681 4489

About Canalys

Canalys is an independent analyst company that strives to guide clients on the future of the technology industry and to think beyond the business models of the past. We deliver smart market insights to IT, channel and service provider professionals around the world. We stake our reputation on the quality of our data, our innovative use of technology and our high level of customer service.

Receiving updates

To receive media alerts directly, or for more information about our events, services or custom research and consulting capabilities, please complete the contact form on our web site.

Alternatively, you can email press@canalys.com or call +1 650 681 4488 (Palo Alto, California, USA),
+65 6671 9399 (Singapore), +86 21 2225 2888 (Shanghai, China) or +44 118 984 0520 (Reading, UK).

 

You may be interested in

India notebook market Q1 2021
India notebook market Q1 2021

08 June 2021
Technology channel leaders unite for Canalys Forums 2021
Technology channel leaders unite for Canalys Forums 2021

15 July 2021
HONOR climbs to third place in China’s smartphone market in Q3 2021
HONOR climbs to third place in China’s smartphone market in Q3 2021

29 October 2021
Canalys: Global PC market grows 5% in Q3 2021 as supply and logistics deteriorate
Canalys: Global PC market grows 5% in Q3 2021 as supply and logistics deteriorate

11 October 2021

 

Receiving updates

To receive media alerts directly, or for more information about our events, services or custom research and consulting capabilities, please contact us. Alternatively, you can email press@canalys.com.