Smartphone Sales in China Drop for First Time
- Thursday, August 20th, 2015
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Global smartphone sales in Q2 2015 saw the slowest growth rate since 2013, up just 13.5 per cent year-on-year, according to a Gartner report.
The biggest contributor to this slowing was a decline in sales in China – the first time this has ever happened – dropping four per cent year-on-year.
“China has reached saturation,” said Gartner research director Anshul Gupta. “Its phone market is essentially driven by replacement, with fewer first-time buyers. Beyond the lower-end phone segment, the appeal of premium smartphones will be key for vendors to attract upgrades and to maintain or grow their market share in China.” 
Interestingly, though, the biggest winners during the quarter were Chinese manufacturers. Huawei saw the biggest jump of any OEM, with sales up 46.3 per cent year-on-year, while Xiaomis sales grew 28.1 per cent.
