Customers try smartphones in the Pura 70 series at a Huawei retail store in Shanghai on April 19. [Photo by Wang Gang/For China Daily]

China's smartphone market saw shipments reach about 69.26 million units, an increase of 6.5 percent in the first quarter of 2024 on a yearly basis, according to a latest report by market consultancy IDC on Thursday.

IDC said the continued recovery of market demand helped the Chinese smartphone market to maintain the rebound momentum at the end of last year, and the market performance was higher than expected.

Among them, the Android market grew by 9.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, while the iOS market faced greater competitive pressure, which fell by 6.6 percent during the same period. Thanks to the application of AI large models and folding screen, Android mobile phones have formed differentiated competition with iPhone in the high-end market.

In addition, the demand during the Spring Festival holiday also boosted the low-end market with a sharper growth.

Honor ranked first by shipment with a market share of 17.1 percent in the first quarter, followed by Huawei with a market share of 17 percent.

 China's smartphone market grows 6.5% in Q1 - Chinadaily.com.cn

By Sun Chi | chinadaily.com.cn