1Q 2016: CHINA smartphone market: Huawei remains top brand.

Huawei remains the top brand in China and is steadily catching up to Apple in the global competition.

Huawei’s first-quarter shipments came in at 27 million units, or a drop of around 20% compared with the prior quarter. Nonetheless, the Chinese smartphone maker retained its rankings as the top brand in China and the third-largest vendor worldwide. 

Huawei currently is ahead of its domestic competitors in terms of scale, technology, and supply chain integration. The Kirin processors manufactured by Huawei’s semiconductor subsidiary HiSilicon are on par with high-end chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek. 

Additionally, Huawei faces the least amount of resistance than other Chinese brands do when it comes to shipping to the overseas markets.

“Huawei won’t be able to overtake Apple and become the No. 2 smartphone brand worldwide any time soon,” said Wu. “Still, the market share gap between Huawei and Apple are expected to narrow with each passing year.”

Lenovo smartphone shipments reached 17 million units in the first quarter, translating to a small quarterly decline of 5.6%. Lenovo will be focusing on foreign markets this year and have assigned 80% of its total shipments for exports. 

By the end of year, Lenovo’s respective market shares in India and Indonesia may surpass 10%. However, the brand’s global market share is expected to contract because of insufficient product differentiation. Lenovo’s flagship devices also lack attractive features that can capture consumers’ interests.

Xiaomi shipped about 16 million units of smartphones in the first quarter and is now in close competition with Lenovo for the No.2 spot in China. Wu said Xiaomi has been more capable of creating market buzz for its products by making significant hardware upgrades. 

Xiaomi’s latest premium smartphone, Mi 5, offers the top-of-line Snapdragon 820 processor, the highest density of LPDDR4 at 4GB and the largest storage available at 128GB. 

Xiaomi is also committed to make its smartphones into powerful platforms for the Internet of Things and has built an ecosystem of connected products. TrendForce expects marginal shipment growth from Xiaomi this year, but the Chinese vendors will see increasing profits coming from the sales of peripheral products related to its smartphones.

OPPO and Vivo together will represent almost 20% of Chinese branded smartphone shipments for 2016. Vivo has shown that it is willing to bring out the best hardware with Xplay 5, which features a dual-curve screen and is the first smartphone to carry 6GB of memory. Besides maintaining channel networks in China’s second and third-tier cities, Vivo is also actively building up its overseas presence. Currently, 10% of Vivo’s total shipments goes to foreign markets.

OPPO’s strategy is about improving smartphone’s overall functionality, such as having an excellent camera and a fast-charging battery. On other hand, OPPO tends to use mid-range application processors for their mobile devices and rely on system optimization to create better user experience. OPPO is among the few Chinese brands to expand abroad early on, and the brand has strong sales records in Southeast Asia and India.

XIAOMI could launch a Windows 10 tablet alongside the MIUI 7 in August 13 event.

XIAOMI will launch the  new MIUI 7 smartphone in August 13 and it is expected the announcement of a new Mi Pad Tablet Windows 10 powered.

Pan Jiutang, a known Chinese analyst has revealed that Xiaomi is going to release a new Mi Pad tablet in the third quarter of 2015. The device won’t be running on the Android version as its predecessor, instead, it will reportedly run on the new Windows 10 platform from Microsoft.

Xiaomi's last Mi Pad tablet was the Mi Pad 7.9 that was released in June 2014 and is currently available for purchase globally. 

xiaomi , gizmochina, IBT

China's XIAOMI overtakes SONY in smartphone market share. April-June 2014.

                                                                                Xiaomi Mi4

China's Xiaomi has overtaken Sony in smartphone market share for the first time, reflecting the rising popularity of cheaper Chinese models made possible through a collaboration with Taiwanese companies.

Xiaomi ranked sixth in the April-June quarter with a global market share of 4.5%, up 0.4 point from the January-March term, according to Taiwanese research company TrendForce. Sony was seventh with a 4.4% share.

The Chinese company is a prime example of a manufacturer focused on volume sales of cheaper devices, generally within the $100 to $200 range. Xiaomi's popular Hongmi handset is priced at 699 yuan ($113).

Of the 10 largest players in the market, six -- including Lenovo in third place and Huawei in fifth -- are Chinese. Combined, they hold about 28% of the global market. The figure has risen sharply from a 16% share in 2012, and is quickly approaching Samsung's 31.4%.

So how did Chinese companies, whose research and development capabilities lag behind Japanese, South Korean and U.S. competitors, become prominent players in such a short period? The answer lies in the development of the Taiwanese industry.

Taiwanese semiconductor maker MediaTek slashed costs for system chips, essentially the core processor for smartphones, by using other company's licenses and partnering with global leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Its products are 30-50% cheaper than U.S. competitor Qualcomm's.

The company also distributes reference designs for smartphones, allowing businesses with no prior experience in the field to easily enter the market.

Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, led the way in assembling the devices. Other Taiwanese electronics manufacturing services have since followed suit.

Manufacturers of specific components have also grown dramatically. An example is Largan Precision, the world's largest producer of optical lenses used in phone cameras.

The symbiotic relationship between Chinese and Taiwanese companies enabled the mass production of cheap smartphones, shattering the high-profit business model pioneered by Apple and Samsung.

And the trend is accelerating. Taiwanese suppliers are now engaging India in a similar production scheme. The low-priced devices from Chinese manufacturers are being shipped to developing markets in Southeast Asia and South America.

The average smartphone price this year is projected at $259, 14% lower than in 2013, according to U.S. statistics company NPD DisplaySearch. Shipments of phones under $200 will likely soar 43% this year to 440 million units, accounting for 37% of the total tally. On the other hand, shipments of high-end products costing over $400 will likely decrease for the first time, slipping 6% to about 394 million.

The rise of cheap models spells trouble for Japanese smartphone makers. 

Sony, the largest Japanese manufacturer, just lowered its fiscal 2014 sales target from 50 million devices to 43 million. It now expects to break even in the segment, rather than raking in 26 billion yen in operating profit. The company is "pursuing earnings, not volume," according to Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida.

On the other hand, electronic parts makers see this trend as a business opportunity. They are reaching out to leading producers of low-price models and are hoping to be included in the reference guides published by MediaTek.

Xiaomi Mi4 4g Lte Smart Phone Snapdragon 801 Quad Core 2.5ghz 3gb RAM 16gb 5 Inch FHD Glonass - Black