• Apple’s iPhone 13 was the best-selling smartphone in China in 2022.
• HONOR’s X30 was the best-selling Android smartphone with a 1.8% market share.
• Nine smartphones in the top-10 bestseller list were 5G enabled.
• HONOR’s Play 20 was the most affordable smartphone on the list.
• The sales share of the top 10 models is expected to decrease in 2023.

Beijing, New Delhi, London, San Diego, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Hong Kong – March 27, 2023

In 2022, Apple’s iPhone 13 contributed to 37% of the brand’s smartphone sales in China, according to Counterpoint Research’s Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker. Apple captured the top three spots in the list of China’s top 10 best-selling smartphones, followed by HONOR with four spots, the highest ever for the brand. vivo and OPPO captured two and one spot, respectively. Chinese consumers purchased over 980 smartphone models in 2022, down from 1,100 in 2021.

Apple contributed over 10% of China’s smartphone sales volume in 2022. The iPhone 13 was the best-selling smartphone in China with a 6.6% market share, rising from the third spot in 2021 with a 2.3% share. Also, the iPhone 13’s sales more than doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year. The iPhone 13 was followed by the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro in the next two spots. These three iPhones contributed to 60% of Apple’s smartphone sales in China in 2022. This was the first time that Apple’s Pro variants were in the top 10 list for China.

China Top 10 Best-selling Smartphones Unit Sales Share, 2022

HONOR’s best-ever show in the top-10 list was driven by its strong rebound through the diversification of its offline presence. The brand also expanded its footprint across the mid-tier and entry-level price bands during the year. The HONOR X30 was the best-selling Android phone in China with a 1.8% market share. Also, the HONOR Play 20 was the most affordable and only non-5G smartphone on the list. The HONOR X30 and HONOR 60 were the only smartphones on the list with a Qualcomm chipset.

vivo’s Y33s 5G and Y76s took the seventh and ninth spots, respectively. These smartphones contributed 16% to vivo’s sales in China in 2022. The vivo Y33s featured among the top three best-selling smartphones in July 2022, while the Chinese New Year holiday sales helped the vivo Y76s in entering the top-10 list. OPPO’s mid-tier smartphone A56 5G took the fifth spot in 2022 with a 1.7% market share, like its predecessor A55 5G in 2021.

Overall, the share of the top 10 models in China has been flat at around 22% for the past three years due to the continuous annual sales decline in the country’s smartphone market. Except for the iPhones, all smartphones in the 2022 list were priced at less than $500. Further, there were nine 5G-enabled smartphones on the 2022 list, compared to six in 2021. Competition in the market is heating up, and the top 10 smartphones’ share is expected to decrease by 2023.

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

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