The competition in the smartphone market is fierce, with companies like Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi battling to attract more users and expand their market share. While this is a global trend, some countries hold greater significance than others. China, one of these key markets, offers tremendous potential due to its large population, making it a critical battleground for many companies. However, it seems that Apple’s iPhone is sweeping away its rivals, with one in three iPhones sold in China in 2022 being the iPhone 13. Here are the details…

iPhone 13 Reigns Supreme in China’s Smartphone Market in 2022

In 2022, Apple’s iPhone 13 dominated the Chinese smartphone market, according to Counterpoint Research’s Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker. Apple secured the top three positions in China’s top 10 best-selling smartphones list, while Honor followed closely with four spots, marking a historical high for the brand. vivo and Oppo also made their mark, capturing two and one spot, respectively.

Chinese consumers purchased over 980 smartphone models in 2022, a decrease from the 1,100 models purchased in 2021. Apple accounted for over 10% of China’s smartphone sales volume in 2022, with the iPhone 13 being the best-selling smartphone in the country, boasting a 6.6% market share.

This marks a significant increase from its 2.3% share in 2021 when it held the third spot. iPhone 13’s sales more than doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro following closely behind. These three models represented 60% of Apple’s smartphone sales in China in 2022 – the first time Apple’s Pro variants made it to the top 10 list for the country.

Honor’s impressive performance in the top-10 list can be attributed to its diversification of offline presence and expansion across mid-tier and entry-level price bands. The Honor X30 emerged as the best-selling Android phone in China with a 1.8% market share, while 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 equipped with a Qualcomm chipset.

Vivo’s Y33s 5G and Y76s secured the seventh and ninth spots, respectively, contributing 16% to vivo’s sales in China in 2022. The Vivo Y33s was among the top three best-selling smartphones in July 2022, while Chinese New Year holiday sales propelled the vivo Y76s into the top-10 list. OPPO’s mid-tier smartphone, the A56 5G, claimed the fifth spot in 2022 with a 1.7% market share, similar to its predecessor, the A55 5G, in 2021.

Despite the continuous annual sales decline in China’s smartphone market, the share of the top 10 models has remained stable at around 22% for the past three years. In 2022, all smartphones on the list, except for the iPhones, were priced at less than $500. Furthermore, nine of the top 10 smartphones were 5G-enabled, compared to six in 2021. However, as competition intensifies, the share of the top 10 smartphones is expected to decrease by 2023.

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