SMARTPHONE sales in China fell 5% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, extending a declining trend as the economy slows and cost-conscious consumers delay phone upgrades, according to a research firm. Smartphone shipments dropped year on year in the quarter to 66.7 million handsets, Canalys reported Thursday. The top five smartphone brands in China all saw declining or flat sales compared with last year. Vivo experienced the steepest drop at 26%, followed by Oppo with a 10% decrease, Apple with a 6% decline, Honor with a 1% dip, and Xiaomi was flat year on year. Honor, formerly Huawei’s smartphone brand which the Shenzhen-based tech giant sold off in 2020, took first place in China with shipments of 11.8 million units and an 18% market share. Oppo and Apple tied for second place, both with 16% share. Apple maintained its high ranking partly thanks to the launch of its iPhone 15 series in China on Sept. 22, according to Canalys. Huawei was the sixth largest smartphone brand in China during the quarter. While Canalys did not provide Huawei’s specific market share, it noted that Huawei’s share increased to reach levels comparable with leading manufacturers in China thanks to strong demand for its new Mate 60 products. Huawei made a launch of its premium Mate 60 Pro phone in late August, which many analysts said uses a domestically made chip and marks a breakthrough in the face of years of U.S. technology sanctions against the company. According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei sold an estimated 1.6 million units of its Mate 60 series handsets within the first six weeks of its launch. Analyst Ivan Lam stated the Mate 60 has seen high demand since its launch. (SD-Agencies) | 