Huawei plows a new path, Chinese smartphone rivals stay the course
While Huawei's newly released, high-end Mate 70 phone continues to be an eye-catcher, many mobile buyers seem happy to remain in the mid-market segment that Chinese smartphone manufacturers focus on.
Brokerage Jefferies, in a note published after the November 26 launch of Mate 70, said the new phone from China's No. 2 phone maker, with a starting price of 5,499 ($760), has been received with somewhat lukewarm enthusiasm, based on industry reviews and online comments.
That should be good news for rival phone makers such as Vivo, Oppo and Nubia, which have launched new models, one after another, priced between 2,000-4,500 yuan. They are targeting a broader audience, but especially young consumers.
These new models, costing half or even less than flagship models, boast practical and customized features such as high-resolution screens, fast charging and on-device AI for photography optimization, along with trendy designs for the younger generation, especially young women.
The strategy is to rope buyers in by offering more functions for less money.
The Vivo S20 is the latest series of the S product line popular with consumers who like beauty photography.
Vivo, the top player in the Chinese smartphone market, released its S20 models on November 28. The latest series of the S product line, which has a reputation for excellence in portrait and beauty photography, features optimized portrait models in camera with five "golden focal lengths." Also on offer are AI lighting adaptation and facial optimization for front cameras, suiting selfie fans.
"The S product line's portrait function is really stunning," said Weibo user called Xiaosusu, after perusing the new phone's price and configurations. "Domestic phones are becoming much better, with nice-looking and light designs and practical functions."
S20 models, costing from 2,299-3,999 yuan, also feature Phoenix feather image and purple color designs to woo female users.
On November 29, Vivo's sub-brand iQOO launched the iQOO Neo10, at a starting price of 2,299 yuan, with optimized eSports functions such as eye-protection screen and super-fast battery charging. There are some 20 million Neo-line product users currently.
China's tennis ace and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen becomes the new Vivo S-series brand ambassador, targeting women users.
This has been a good year for Chinese smartphone makers. In the first 10 months, sales hit 250 million units, up 8.9 percent on the year.
Chinese brands have captured the lion's share of the domestic market – over 80 percent, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a research arm under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In the first nine months, Vivo remained No. 1 in the Chinese smartphone market with a 17.2-percent market share, followed by Huawei at 16.8 percent, according to International Data Corp or IDC.
Global smartphone sales in 2024 will rebound, growing 6.2 percent to 1.24 billion units, according to IDC. It noted that iPhone sales will grow only 0.4 percent while the sales of Android models including Xiaomi, Huawei, Vivo and Oppo to grow 7.6 percent.
All four models in Huawei's Mate 70 line are offered with the company's homegrown HarmonyOS Next operating system, which isn't compatible with Android apps.
This break from US technology comes as Washington is expected to announce new export controls that could add up to 200 Chinese chip companies to a trade blacklist, according to Reuters.
Oppo's latest phone targets young women.
In the domestic market, changing lifestyles show a consumer preference for intelligent terminal products. High-quality, durable, simple and hassle-free products are in demand instead of phone with complicated decoration and fancy functions that many users don't really need, analysts said.
As competition intensifies, manufacturers are focusing on delivering innovative features, affordable pricing, and customized user experiences to attract a wider audience. The mid-range segment, in particular, is expected to drive growth in coming years, analysts said.
On Friday, Oppo started sales of its mid-range Reno 13, with a starting price of 2,699 yuan. It features LivePhoto functions, a popular feature in iPhones, to help users share moving moments on social platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu (Red), the Chinese equivalent of Instagram.
Oppo is targeting a group of consumers it calls "Reno girls" – young buyers who pursue what's fashionable and love to share experiences. Other unique features of the new Reno models include chips with enhanced communications, enabling access to Wi-Fi signals within a 100-meter range.
The ZTE-backed Nubia Z70 Ultra features physical aperture for real-life shots, suiting serious photography fans.
ZTE-backed Nubia also released its new model, the Z70 Ultra, which began sales on November 25 and is priced at 4,599 yuan. It features the world's first 1.5K full display seamless screen without "holes," top-line Snapdragon mobile platform and an adjustable physical aperture for real-life shots, which suits serious photography buffs.
Honor, which was spun off from Huawei, is due to release its new Honor 300 in the first week of December. It's also a mid-range phone costing from around 2,000 yuan.
IDC is predicting that end users in 2025 will continue to want more personalized and exclusive products, enabled by technologies such as AI.
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