(Central News Agency, Taipei, April 14) Global memory prices continue to soar. A market research report released today shows that Huawei and Apple, by resisting pressure and not raising prices, ranked among the top 2 in China's mobile phone shipments in the first quarter.
Market research firm Omdia today released a report stating that due to rising costs leading some brands to increase product prices, China's smartphone market continued to decline, with Q1 shipments falling by 1% compared to the same period last year, reaching 69.8 million units.
In terms of brand rankings, Huawei jumped to first place with 13.9 million units shipped, accounting for 20% market share, continuing its strong momentum; Apple ranked second with 13.1 million units shipped, accounting for 19% market share, ceding its top position.
OPPO, after realme returned as a sub-brand at the beginning of the year, shipped 11 million units in the first quarter, ranking 3rd; vivo shipped 10.5 million units, ranking 4th; Xiaomi shipped 8.7 million units, ranking 5th.
Omdia Chief Analyst Hou Lin stated that due to rising memory prices, some brands raised retail prices for some products in Q1 to find a relative balance between sales volume, sales revenue, and brand profit. However, this undoubtedly had a negative impact on consumer purchasing willingness. Huawei and Apple, on the other hand, did not significantly raise prices and viewed rising costs as an opportunity to expand market share, making their products relatively more popular with consumers, which is also why these two brands performed relatively better in Q1.
Omdia Senior Analyst Zhong Xiaolei pointed out that rising costs will make mid-range and entry-level phones more passive, especially product series that previously emphasized hardware specifications and cost-effectiveness, which may face larger price increases this year.
The report said that the Chinese mainland market is currently continuing to decline due to rising memory prices, and it is expected that the overall Chinese mainland smartphone market will be in a downward trend throughout 2026, with annual shipments possibly decreasing by about 10%.
According to Omdia's previous release, China's smartphone market shipments in Q4 2025 were 76.4 million units, with Apple ranking first with 16.5 million units and 22% market share; Huawei ranked 4th with 11.1 million units. (Edited by Yang Shengru/Chen Yan-chun) 1150414
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- Source: CNA (Central News Agency)
- Category: financial