• This is the first time since August 2020 that HONOR has entered the Top 3 smartphone brands’ list in China.
• HONOR’s China sales grew 18% MoM in August 2021, making it one of the country’s fastest growing brands.

Beijing, Seoul, Taipei, London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Hong Kong – September 29, 2021

HONOR surpassed Xiaomi in August 2021 to become the third-largest smartphone brand in China, according to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Market Pulse Service. HONOR’s sales in China grew 18% MoM in August, making it one of the fastest growing brands in the country.

China Smartphone Sales: Top 3 Brands’ Share in August 2021 and HONOR Rankings

Source: Counterpoint Research Monthly Market Pulse, August 2021

Commenting on HONOR’s gains in China, Research Director Tarun Pathak said, “After being spun off from Huawei, HONOR was able to restore ties with component players. Since then, leveraging its strong R&D capabilities, HONOR has launched new products and has been on a rapid recovery path in China. The HONOR 50 series has been an instant success in the mid-segment. HONOR is also targeting the premium segment with the Magic series, thus expanding its portfolio across price bands. There was also a pent-up demand from the loyal Huawei and HONOR consumers who held on to their devices and did not switch to other brands. Its strong relationships with distributors also helped HONOR relaunch products on a large scale. HONOR’s resurrection will further intensify competition in the Chinese market in H2 2021.”

The competitive landscape in China has also been changing over the last year. Commenting on this and HONOR’s expansion, Senior Analyst Varun Mishra said, “Over the last year, there has been a reshuffle in the Chinese market. OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi all have aggressively expanded their presence in China in terms of products, market share and distribution. Apple with its iPhone 13 launch also has a significant opportunity to capture Huawei’s premium segment. Therefore, the competition is likely to intensify further in H2 2021. HONOR will be expanding its portfolio further across price segments and geographies. However, market share growth outside China is likely to be gradual, as loyalty in the mid-segment remains low and HONOR will also have to rebuild its distribution network. Then, there are also intensifying component shortages which can likely hinder HONOR’s expansion in 2021. Besides smartphones, HONOR is also expanding into devices like laptops, tablets, and wearables under its 1+8+N strategy, which aims to drive growth in segments beyond smartphones.”

Please reach out to press (at) counterpointresearch.com for press comments and enquiries.

You can also visit our Data Section (updated quarterly) to view the smartphone market share for World, US, China, and India.

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• BoM Research: iPhone 12 Pro Max Teardown Analysis

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media, and telecom) 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.

Analyst Contacts:

Tarun Pathak

Varun Mishra

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