Huawei showed explosive growth and became the second smartphone brand in China – Apple is the fastest to lose the market

The research company Counterpoint Research summed up the results of the last quarter and the year as a whole for the Chinese smartphone market, which is the largest in the world, but has its own specifics in the form of strong positions of local brands. Huawei, in particular, managed to take first place in the fourth quarter, and at the end of the year as a whole, increase sales volumes by 36.4%.

Image source: Huawei Technologies

Overall, the fourth quarter for the Chinese market was the only period in 2024 with negative sales dynamics year-on-year, as they decreased by 3.2% year-on-year. This did not stop Huawei from taking first place, demonstrating an increase in sales volumes of 15.5% and an increase in market share from 15.2 to 18.1%. According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi was in second place in the fourth quarter with shipment growth of 3.9% and a market share of 17.2%. Xiaomi’s statistics also included Redmi products. Experts believe that the presence of Xiaomi electric vehicles on the market contributed to the growth in sales of smartphones of the same brand. American Apple, in third place, showed dismal delivery dynamics with a drop of 18.2%, but this did not prevent it from retaining 17.1% of the local market.

Image source: Counterpoint Research

In fourth place was Oppo with sales growth of 8%, but Honor could not boast of the success of its “ancestor” Huawei, limiting itself to fifth place and demonstrating a decline in smartphone sales in the Chinese market by 12.8%. Oppo in sixth place reduced sales by 9.3% year-on-year, and all other smartphone suppliers together occupied no more than 5.2% of the Chinese market at the end of the fourth quarter. By the way, a year ago their share reached 5.6%, so we can talk about some market consolidation.

In general, at the end of 2024, sales of smartphones of all brands in China increased by 1.5%, and Counterpoint Research representatives recognize Vivo as the leader for the period with 17.8% of the market. In 2023, the local market dropped by 1.4%, so the swing of the pendulum in the opposite direction certainly cannot but please its participants. Huawei was awarded only second place in this ranking, but it was among the leaders in terms of growth in sales volumes, which reached 36.4%. Xiaomi came in third place with sales growth of 10.2%. This to some extent contradicts data from Canalys, which claims that Xiaomi was not among the top five smartphone manufacturers in China at the end of 2024. At the same time, even Canalys representatives claim that Xiaomi’s share in the Chinese smartphone market has been growing continuously for four quarters. Judging by Counterpoint Research data, Xiaomi has not observed such blunders.

Image source: Counterpoint Research

At the end of 2024, Apple fell to fourth place with a share of 15.5%; sales volumes of smartphones of this brand decreased by 12.6%. Honor was in fifth place with a slight lag in market share (15%), its sales volumes decreased by 2.8%. Oppo closes the top six with a decline in sales of 10.4% and a market share of 14.3%. All other smartphone suppliers in the Chinese market at the end of 2024 were content with a share of no more than 5.4%.

This year, the Chinese smartphone market, according to analysts at Counterpoint Research, will grow by several percent. In January, the Chinese authorities launched a program to subsidize the sale of new smartphones to the public, so in the first quarter it can have a significant impact on the dynamics of the local market.