Shipments of 4G handsets in China declined 21.5 per cent year-on-year in November to 40.4 million units, accounting for 93.4 per cent of total handsets shipped during the month, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology revealed.

Over the first 11 months of 2017, shipments of 4G mobile phones in the country fell 8.1 per cent year-on-year to 422 million units, C114.net reported.

The number of new 4G smartphone models introduced by vendors in the January to November period dropped 33.5 per cent year-on-year to 753 models.

Figures from China’s big three mobile operators showed they added 17.2 million 4G subscribers in October, taking their combined LTE total to 967 million. LTE now accounts for 69 per cent of the country’s total mobile subscribers.

The reported decline in 4G device shipments is in line with analyst figures pointing to a broader slowdown in smartphone shipment growth in China. Canalys announced smartphone shipments fell 5 per cent year-on-year during Q3 to 119 million units: Counterpoint Research put the annual decline at 1 per cent.

While shipments weakened in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, demand in the second-largest market, India, remained brisk with shipments growing 23 per cent year-on-year in Q3 to just over 40 million units, Canalys figures showed.