Smartphone shipments in China are forecast to rise by 6 per cent annually to reach 460 million units by 2017, according to IDC.

The analyst firm predicts that operator subsidies and strong consumer demand for new phones will drive smartphone growth to create a market worth RMB 740.5 billion ($117.8 billion) by 2017.

IDC’s 2013 Q1 China Mobile Phone Quarterly Tracker found that 78 million smartphones were shipped in the first quarter of 2013, a 117 per cent growth compared with a year earlier. Total mobile phone shipments for the period were 97 million, a 15 per cent year-on-year increase.

As a result, smartphones took a 79 per cent share of the Chinese mobile phone market during the first quarter.

Samsung remained the top vendor with a 19 per cent market share. Its switch to focus its marketing on the sub-$200 category saw shipments of these devices increase by 47 per cent.

Huawei was the only large domestic mobile phone vendor to see a significant increase in shipments during the first quarter.

IDC believes that the efforts of the world’s largest operator, China Mobile, will be a major factor in driving the speed of growth it has predicted.

James Yan, senior analyst of IDC China, said the development trends seen in China will see the shipments of 4G-enabled mobile phones outnumber 3G by the end of 2017.

In addition, the market share of smartphones with screens bigger than 5 inches will pass 20 per cent by the end of 2013 due to the success of devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S and Note series.