• China’s smartphone sales grew 6.8% YoY during the 618 festival when compared to same period last year.
• This year, price discounts offered by most OEMs were similar to last year’s.
• Huawei was the big winner with a 42.4% YoY increase in sales, driven by continued demand for its new 5G products.
• vivo and Xiaomi also performed better, both seeing double-digit growth compared to last year.
• Apple’s sales grew 2.7% YoY, benefiting from stronger promotions and an extra week of sale prices compared to 2023.

Beijing, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, San Diego, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo – June 25, 2024

China’s smartphone sales grew 6.8% YoY during Week 21 to Week 24 of 2024, the period corresponding to the 618 shopping festival, according to Counterpoint’s China Smartphone Weekly Model Sales Tracker. Most OEMs were offering price discounts that were similar to last year’s, indicating a demand warm-up. Notably, this year’s 618 festival, spanning from May 20 to June 20, lasted longer than usual as promotions started on May 20 at Tmall. In 2023, the 618 period was from May 31 to June 18. This extended promotional period also contributed to the growth this year.

Huawei was the big winner during the 618 period with a 42.4% YoY increase in smartphone sales. This was primarily due to continued demand for its new 5G products. Despite offering the smallest price discounts among major OEMs, Huawei's products, such as the Mate 60 series and Pura 70 series, were still in high demand.

vivo was the second-best performer with an over 12.6% YoY increase. It launched the high-end X100s series, affordable Y200 series and mid-range iQOO Neo 9s Pro before the event and the mid-range S19 series during the event. This helped boost its sales during the period.

Xiaomi's sales grew by nearly 12.6% YoY, primarily due to discounts of up to RMB 1,000 (~$139) offered during the period and increased sales of its mid-to-high-end phones. Among Xiaomi models, the Redmi K70 was its bestseller during this period.

HONOR’s sales witnessed a 4.3% YoY increase. Apart from generous price cuts, HONOR launched the mid-end HONOR 200 series during the 618 period. Popular value-for-money products such as the HONOR X50 also contributed significantly to this growth.

Apple’s sales grew 2.7% YoY, benefiting from stronger promotions and an extra week of sale prices compared to 2023. The brand offered the biggest-ever discounts, reaching up to RMB 2,350 (~$326), during the period to entice consumers, especially given the strong competition from Huawei in the premium segment.

Given the recovery of China’s smartphone market since the start of this year, we believe it will see a low single-digit YoY growth in 2024.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

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