IDC pegged Q1 smartphone shipment growth in China at 6.5 per cent, marking a second consecutive quarter of gains.

The company stated shipments totalled 69.3 million units, with Honor and Huawei the only players in the top five to record growth.

Honor moved to the top position with shipments up 13.2 per cent and a market share of 17.1 per cent, while Huawei took second with a 110 per cent rise in shipments and a 17 per cent share, up from 8.7 per cent in Q1 2023.

Oppo’s share fell from 19.8 per cent to 15.7 per cent, with shipments down 15.5 per cent.

Apple fell from second to fourth place after shipments fell 6.6 per cent fewer devices. Its share dropped 2.2 percentage points to 15.6 cent. 

IDC China senior research analyst Arthur Guo noted Apple price promotions were unable to “mitigate the impact of the intense competition” from Android players.

Vivo was fifth on a 14.6 per cent share, with shipments down 10.7 per cent.

Sales figures released by Counterpoint Research released earlier this week put Huawei in fourth position after a 69.7 per cent rise year-on-year.

Neither research company released ASP figures, which could be the reason behind the large gap in estimated growth between shipments and sales.