TrendForce: China Smartphone Brand Awareness Increasing in China; Apple Still Holds Top Spot

The global smartphone market is slowing down and entering a mature period where growth will be limited. Mature markets such as Europe and North America in particular are expected to see smartphone growth in the single digits. Amid an increasingly competitive smartphone market in China where growth is expected to be more noticeable, vendors such as Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo have nevertheless gained a strong market share in the lower-priced smartphone segment.

iPhone and Samsung hold the first position in brand awareness, whilst growth of Chinese brands is not negligible

According to a new report from Avanti, the Shanghai-located consumer behavior research division of Taiwan-based TrendForce, statistics show that when asked about smartphones without mentioning a specific brand, roughly half of local consumers in China show the most interest for Apple (50%) and Samsung Electronics products (25%).

Products from China vendors however are making an increasingly extended impression with Chinese consumers. While there was growing demand for iPhone and Samsung products from 2012 throughout the second quarter of 2014, there was also increased demand for Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo products. Xiaomi saw the biggest increase, with a Top of Mind rate rising from 3% to 27% over 10 quarters for a 24pp increase. Huawei’s meanwhile jumped from 3% to 23% and Lenovo 8% to 18%. While such percentages are still not comparable to the rates consumers have for Apple and Samsung products, they do show clear signs of stemming quickly.

Chinese consumers more willing to purchase local products; Xiaomi holds number 3 spot

There have been obvious changes from the first quarter in 2012 to the second quarter of 2014 in terms of what kinds of smartphones Chinese consumers want to purchase. iPhone used to have a 37% rate, which dropped as of the third quarter of 2013. Avanti believes this is because consumers felt the smartphone had lacking new innovation, and a smaller-than-desired screen (4-inches). However, due to the release of iPhone 5c and 5s, Apple’s percentage increased to 22% in the second quarter, regaining the top spot.

View Full Press Release: http://press.trendforce.com/press/20140724-1506.html