IDC says Huawei and Apple further lead China's mobile phone market, rising chip prices exacerbate Matthew effect
According to data from international market research organization IDC, in the quarter ended in June, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. The company further expanded its leading position in China's smartphone market. Faced with rising price pressure, consumers either choose to buy high-end models or simply postpone replacement, thus driving the growth of shipments of the two companies. The latest data from the agency shows that the tight supply of memory chips has forced Android phone manufacturers to increase prices, causing an impact on shipments and further exacerbating market differentiation. Although China's overall smartphone market fell 4.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, shipments of Shenzhen-based Huawei and Apple's iPhone product lines both increased by about 20% compared with the same period last year. Huawei and Apple dominate China's high-end smartphone market and are the only two major players to achieve growth. Global markets are showing similar trends. Against the background of an overall decline of 6.7% in global smartphone shipments, Samsung Electronics and Apple became the few large manufacturers to achieve growth. As costs continue to rise, more and more consumers are choosing to purchase high-end equipment in advance to avoid the risk of further price increases in the future. At the same time, manufacturers focusing on the mid- to low-end market are facing increasing operating pressure. "The cost of memory chips has increased by nearly 300% compared with a year ago, and now accounts for more than 65% of the material costs of low-end mobile phones. This has put related manufacturers under increasing pressure to survive," said IDC analyst Nabila Popal. "But Apple can always bring surprises. Despite the overall market shrinkage, double-digit growth has been achieved in both China and the global market, which fully reflects the advantages of Apple's brand strength and supply chain execution capabilities." Market concerns about further price increases in the future may also stimulate demand in advance. "