for the past decade apple
and samsung have been the two dominant
players in the global smartphone market
but in recent years chinese smartphone
brands
have been taking a bigger piece of the
pie
outside china xiaomi oppo
and vivo may not be household names but
those
chinese brand smartphones are powerful
and affordable
and are increasingly attractive to users
around the world
in 2020 south korea's samsung earned the
top spot for worldwide smartphone
shipments
with more than million units sold
apple came in second with 207 million
phones shipped
but chinese brands huawei xiaomi and
oppo
grab the rest of the top five slots
after each shipped over a hundred
million smartphones that year
one key reason chinese-made phones have
become so popular
is because they come in a wide range of
models
unlike the top brands chinese phone
companies don't just release one or two
premium flagship models each year they
also make affordable low
to mid-range phones with fewer premium
features
than the flagship models that
affordability has dramatically
increased sales of chinese smartphones
especially those that can support
next generation 5g networks
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while the first 5g smartphones were all
premium models
chinese manufacturers have been changing
the game
in the first quarter of 2020 xiaomi
launched a 5g
phone that cost as little as 300 us
dollars
other chinese brands like oppo vivo and
honor
also offered affordable 5g phones
throughout the year
apple and samsung followed suit after
seeing
strong sales of the chinese mid-range 5g
phones but those top brands also
struggled
to price their phones as low as their
chinese competitors
apple introduced its first 5g iphone
in the fourth quarter of 2020. and for
the first time in its history
apple released four models to compete
with the mid-range to top-end offerings
from other brands
by the end of the fourth quarter of 2020
apple had shipped 81
million iphones while xiaomi oppo
and vivo combined shipped over 100
million
smartphones
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cheaper models are not the only reason
chinese brands are chipping away at
apple and samsung's dominance
flagship phones from china also have
features that can go head-to-head with
iphones or samsung's galaxy s21
series like the market leaders chinese
brands introduce new cameras
and screen technology to their flagship
models every year
but sometimes they introduce new
technologies before the major brands do
when it comes to camera technology
chinese manufacturers go the extra mile
and partner with top photography brands
such as leica
hasselblad and zeiss to develop a
professional experience and better image
quality
as for screens most chinese smartphones
offer
sharper displays with a high refresh
rate
providing a smoother scrolling
experience
and for the chinese flagship models with
price tags
close to what the bigger brands charge
users
often choose phones with more powerful
features
and breakthrough designs chinese brands
have also led the way with
innovations in camera or screen
technology
including foldable phones oppo even came
up with the world's first
rollable smartphone the oppo x
2021 is still in the concept stage and
may be a long way from launching
commercially but the device illustrates
how chinese companies are trying to
outpace
apple and samsung in the race to build
next generation smartphones
global market leader samsung does have
something in common
with chinese smartphone companies in the
way it produces
low to mid-range models at competitive
prices
samsung has also pushed innovations
including foldable handsets one of the
latest trends in the smartphone market
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but it's not all smooth sailing growth
rates for some
chinese smartphone brands have slowed
after some governments raised
security concerns about their devices
in 2019 the u.s raised concerns about
huawei
technologies and products being used for
espionage by china
though washington offered no hard
evidence and huawei
categorically denied the allegations
american businesses were banned from
doing business
with the chinese company as a result
huawei phones are restricted from using
google apps a huge blow to the company's
software ecosystem
huawei saw a massive drop in smartphone
sales
outside of china in 2020
u.s suppliers are also banned from
exporting components to another chinese
smartphone maker
zte after it was found to have violated
sanctions
by exporting technology to north korea
and iran
despite these hurdles other chinese
smartphone brands continue to become
more popular and have overshadowed some
of the best
known mobile phone brands of the past
including
lg htc sony
nokia and motorola lg
recently announced it is getting out of
the mobile phone business
altogether chinese smartphones have come
a long way
since the days when made in china
devices
were synonymous with being cheap and
unreliable
over the years they've connected with
savvy consumers
who favor value for money phones and as
a result
are giving more established brands a run
for their money
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