By CGTN's He Weiwei
China's smartphone market is booming, and domestic and foreign brands are in an ever-tighter race to win over consumers.
Jiao jiantang, Deputy Secretary-General of Mobile China Alliance, says that when we talk about Chinese phone brands today, we no longer mean low-end products. To the contrary, they have become more competitive in terms of design, hardware and functions.
Vivo made over a 100 percent annual growth in 2016 shipments. /Photo by He Weiwei
In 2017, Chinese brands are set to explore markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa for their ambitious growth plans.
Chinese phone makers dial up more market share
International Data Corporation says the top five cell phone vendors in 2016 in terms of global market share are Samsung (21.2%), Apple (14.6%), Huawei (9.5%), OPPO (6.8%) & Vivo (5.3%). But the top two brands saw a decline in shipments year-on-year, while the other three Chinese brands witnessed big jumps.
In a written response to questions from CGTN, Huawei said its rapid growth comes from closely studying consumers' demands, along with pursuing innovation and quality.
Huawei, ranked third among the world's top 5 cellphone vendors, say they focus on their customers' needs. /Photo by He Weiwei
Some consumers have told CGTN that the reasons they chose domestic phones include dual-SIM capability, good camera, and more acceptable price, among others. Meanwhile others argued that they would stick to iPhone for its operating system.
