BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's smartphone sales jumped almost 9 percent year on year in 2016 as consumers used mobile applications more frequently and demand for taking selfies increased, said research firm IDC on February 7.
Top Chinese vendors gained market share last year, representing a growing domestic acceptance of homemade brands, other research firms said.
The four Chinese vendors — Oppo, Huawei, Vivo and Xiaomi — gained a combined share of 57 percent in 2016, up from 46 percent in 2015. But Apple, ranked No. 4 in the domestic smartphone market in 2016, suffered a 23 percent year-on-year drop in sales in 2016, according to US-based IDC, or International Data Corp.
Increased dependence on mobile apps has spurred consumers to upgrade phones. A similar demand was seen in lower-tier cities, which Oppo and Vivo met by pushing mid-range smartphones.
Xiaomi, which used to focus on online sales, opened offline stores aggressively in 2016, said Tay Xiaohan, IDC analyst.
In 2016, the global smartphone sales reached 1.5 billion units, with 58 percent contributed by Chinese vendors including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Gionee, said another researcher Counterpoint.
Gionee, a vendor outside of the top-five list, also witnessed good growth in 2016. (Shanghai Daily)
A single purchase
