China's Smartphone Market Accelerates Upmarket Shift: Huawei Leads the Charge, Domestic Brands Rise

China's Smartphone Market Accelerates Upmarket Shift: Huawei Leads the Charge, Domestic Brands RiseA recent report by CounterPoint Research highlights the accelerating upmarket transformation of China's smartphone market. The report reveals that the market share of smartphones priced at $600 (approximately RMB 4356) and above surged from 11% in 2018 to 28% in 2024, demonstrating strong growth in Chinese consumers' demand for high-end phones

China's Smartphone Market Accelerates Upmarket Shift: Huawei Leads the Charge, Domestic Brands Rise

A recent report by CounterPoint Research highlights the accelerating upmarket transformation of China's smartphone market. The report reveals that the market share of smartphones priced at $600 (approximately RMB 4356) and above surged from 11% in 2018 to 28% in 2024, demonstrating strong growth in Chinese consumers' demand for high-end phones.

This significant shift is driven by the strong rise of domestic smartphone manufacturers, particularly Huawei. The report identifies Huawei as a major force behind the upmarket trend. In the $600-and-above segment, Huawei commands a leading 29% market share amongst domestic brands, solidifying its position as the undisputed leader. Notably, Huawei's high-end market share saw a remarkable 9 percentage point increase from 20% in 2023 to 29% in 2024, making it the fastest-growing domestic manufacturer in this segment. This impressive growth is closely linked to the launch of its 5G Kirin chip in 2023, which effectively restored Huawei's competitiveness in the high-end market and provided strong technological support for its premium models. With the launch of new models like the Pura series and Nova 13 series, Huawei's overall sales increased by 37% year-on-year, while high-end market growth reached 52%, reflecting the breakthrough progress of China's supply chain ecosystem and Huawei's strong R&D capabilities and market strategy. Huawei's success serves as a benchmark for other domestic brands, encouraging them to be more aggressive in the high-end market.

In contrast to Huawei's strong growth, Apple's high-end market share declined to 54%. This means that while Apple still holds a dominant position, the rise of domestic manufacturers, especially Huawei, is gradually reshaping the competitive landscape of the high-end market. Facing fierce competition from Huawei and other domestic brands, Apple needs to continue its efforts in product innovation, market strategy, and user experience to maintain its market leadership.

Driven by Huawei's success, other domestic manufacturers like Xiaomi and vivo have also increased their investment in the high-end market, actively participating in the competition and achieving significant results. The report shows that the collective market share of these manufacturers in the $600-and-above segment grew threefold from 5% in 2020 to 15% in 2024, demonstrating a collective breakthrough in the high-end market. Although their market share remains relatively small compared to Huawei and Apple, their rapid growth demonstrates their determination and ability in technological innovation and market development. In the future, these manufacturers need to continue innovating and enhancing product competitiveness to secure a more advantageous position in the high-end market competition.

Beyond the $600-and-above segment, domestic manufacturers further consolidated their dominance in the $400-$600 (approximately RMB 2904-4356) segment. In 2024, domestic manufacturers held a collective market share of 91% in this price range, up from 89% in 2023. The market performance in this segment lays a solid foundation for consumers to upgrade to the $600-and-above segment in the future. Domestic smartphones in this price range offer a significant price advantage while also delivering excellent performance, winning favor with numerous consumers and strongly driving the overall upmarket trend of China's smartphone market.

CounterPoint Research believes that the upmarket trend in China's smartphone market is irreversible. With increasingly fierce market competition, smartphone manufacturers need to continuously strive for product innovation, localized operations, and brand differentiation. Product innovation is the core competitiveness; only by continuously launching products with technological leadership and unique selling points can manufacturers attract consumers. Localized operations mean that manufacturers need to deeply understand the needs and preferences of Chinese market consumers, accurately target user groups, and continuously improve products and services based on user feedback. Brand differentiation requires manufacturers to establish a unique brand image and culture and build a good brand reputation to stand out in fierce market competition.

In conclusion, the upmarket transformation of China's smartphone market is accelerating. The rise of Huawei and the collective breakthrough of domestic manufacturers are reshaping the global smartphone market competition. In the future, the Chinese smartphone market will be more diversified and competitive, offering consumers more high-end choices while also placing higher demands on manufacturers. Manufacturers need to constantly innovate and adapt to market changes to succeed in this challenging and opportunistic market. This upmarket competition is not only about the fate of individual companies but also about the influence of China's smartphone industry globally. The ultimate winners will be those who can continuously innovate, meet consumer needs, and constantly improve their competitiveness. In the future, with continuous technological advancements and evolving consumer demands, the upmarket trend in China's smartphone market will continue to maintain strong momentum, bringing new development directions to the global smartphone industry. This will drive the entire industry to focus more on technological innovation and user experience enhancement, bringing consumers better products and services.