The smartphone market in China in the first quarter of 2022 was worse than the global market, with 75.6 million units shipped, down 18% compared to the same period last year.
Honor is the first brand in Chinese history to have 15 million shipments out of a total of 75.6 million, accounting for 20% of the market share and three times what the company achieved last year.
Meanwhile, Oppo (including OnePlus) is holding the 2nd place and Apple is in 3rd place. However, Oppo's brother, Vivo, could not maintain a good ranking and dropped from first place to fourth place.
In general, demand and output continued to decline in the first quarter, the Chinese smartphone market has been ineffective for nearly three years, said Amber Liu, an analyst at Canalys. Therefore, these results are not surprising.
The explosion of Omicron COVID-19 variants and strict quarantine in major cities since February have overshadowed the consumer market. Smartphone manufacturers should plan their inventory carefully and prepare for store closures as well as logistics issues.
The low-cost market will be hit hardest, so manufacturers will need to focus on mid-range to high-end models, analyst Toby Zhu warned.
Currently, due to a shortage of components, analysts recommend that suppliers focus on improving distribution channels and retaining customers. Moreover, they should also maintain supply chains and power allocation if they do not want to face more shortages when consumer demand returns to normal.
