How Did Apple Increase Its Share in China’s Smartphone Market?

What Recent Trends Could Affect Apple's Performance This Year? (Part 3 of 9)

How Did Apple Increase Its Share in China's Smartphone Market? By Adam Rogers  • Apr 1, 2016 4:17 pm EDT Smartphone shipments in China grew by 8% YoY

According to IDC, 117.3 million smartphones were shipped to China (FXI) in 4Q15, representing an 8% YoY (year-over-year) growth. Huawei led China's smartphone market in 4Q15 with a share of 15.2% compared to 10.9% in 4Q14. Apple (AAPL) was in second place with a share of 14.6% in 4Q15 compared to 13.5% in 4Q14. Huawei, Apple, and Xiaomi were the top players in 4Q15 in China (EWY). The top players in 2013 were Samsung (SSNLF), Lenovo (LNVGY), and Coolpad.

Enlarge Graph

"Xiaomi entered the market at a time when the China smartphone market was still growing, and was able to capture a significant market share with its disruptive sales model. Huawei, with its investments in R&D, strong products, branding and channel connections, saw it having significant growth in 2015. Apple, on the other hand, continues to be a strong and desirable brand in the eyes of the Chinese consumers. With the Chinese market now slowing down, it is unlikely that we will see any new players making a big impact on the smartphone market compared to the way Xiaomi did in the previous years," stated Tay Xiaohan, senior market analyst with IDC.

Huawei's market share increased significantly in 4Q15

As seen in the above chart, Huawei's YoY growth stood at 50.8%. This figure for Apple and Xiaomi were 16.8% and 15.3%, respectively, in 4Q15. OPPO, another Chinese player, also saw its market share grow by 53.3% in 4Q15 to 10% from 7% in 4Q14.

Source: How Did Apple Increase Its Share in China's Smartphone Market?