Chinese smartphone sales are closing in on Apple's charm

World
Europe

Chinese smartphone brands are closing in fast on the global smartphone market.

According to the latest report from Strategy Analytics released on Tuesday, mobile manufacturers shipped a total of 360.4 million units globally in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017, a six percent increase compared to the same period for last year.

Among global manufacturers, Chinese smartphone maker, Huawei, shipped 38.4 million units for nearly 11 percent of the global market share. Huawei is well within striking distance of Apple's 11.4 percent market share in Q2. The popularity of P10 and Mate 9 models may have attributed to the increase, analysts said.

Strategy Analytics Photo

Following Huawei, OPPO shipped 29.5 million smartphones. The Chinese smartphone makers' market share rose to 8.2 percent in Q2, nearly 3 percent increase compared to the same time last year.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi took the fifth place during Q2, shipping 23.2 million units globally. Its market share climbed to 6.3 percent in this quarter from the 4.3 percent in Q2, 2016.

Since 2011, the worldwide smartphone market has been dominated by Apple and Samsung. In Q2 of 2017, Samsung continued to lead the global market by shipping 79.5 million units. It indicates to some degree that the company has already successfully recovered from the fiasco of Note 7.

Strategy Analytics Photo

At the same time, Apple occupied the second place with a slight drop in the global market share compared to the same period of 2016. According to Neil Mawston, executive director of Strategy Analytics, the fall indicates "Apple’s iPhone has gone out of fashion in China and this is placing a cap on its worldwide performance".