Smartphone volumes in China continued to exhibit double-digit growth post-Chinese New Year (CNY), Jefferies analysts said in a note released Sunday.
Specifically, the growth was predominantly driven by Android devices including Huawei, which experienced double-digit growth, whereas iPhone volumes remain down by over 20% year-over-year.
Still, Android devices and Huawei experienced double-digit sequential growth after CNY, while iPhone sales declined by a mid-single-digit percentage.
“After a big YoY decline in January this year owing to a high base, we estimate smartphone vol will turn positive growth in Feb (CNY) and Mar (low base - rapid fall last year),” analysts said in a note.
“We see the 1.2% YoY fall as strong since 2023 CNY (Jan 22) was accompanied by post-COVID reopening, which drove a period of revenge consumption,” they added.
However, this surge in revenge consumption was short-lived and ultimately generated a misleading recovery indication for the smartphone market.
According to Jefferies, smartphone volumes during the 2024 Chinese New Year period are approximately 6% higher than those recorded during the 2021 Chinese New Year, propelled by an approximately 8% increase in Android devices paired with Huawei, but countered by a roughly 4% decline in iPhone sales.
“We also estimate iPhone's share during CNY 2024 fell 3.5ppt YoY, and is the lowest in the past four years. Our industry checks also show, for CNY 2024, high-end (ASP>Rmb4K) and low-end (ASP