SAMSUNG, Apple and Chinese brands like ZTE and Huawei will continue to grow in the domestic market this year while Nokia, HTC and Motorola are expected to face pressure on their sales, US-based research firm IHS iSuppli said yesterday.
The recent emergence of phablet phones such as Samsung Galaxy Note, a combination phone and tablet which usually features 5-inch or bigger screens, will become a trend, according to Kevin Wang, IHS iSuppli's China research director.
In 2013, China's mobile phone sales will hit 380 million units, 44-percent annual growth, according to International Data Corp, another US-based IT research firm.
Apple and Samsung will continue to expand in the high-end smartphone market as they tap their brand awareness and unveil top-of-the-range handsets.
Meanwhile Chinese brands like ZTE and Huawei will grow their market shares in the entry and mid-level segments through price-competitive models, according to Wang.
Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp, which has already sold 500 million phones globally, plans to sell 45 to 50 million smartphones this year, up from 35 million units last year. It aims to sell high-end phones costing over 2,000 yuan (US$324) each and is eying the over 3,000 yuan segment where Apple and Samsung dominate, according to He Shiyou, executive vice president of ZTE.
But Nokia's sales will continue to fall this year while the market shares of HTC and Motorola are expected to "slightly drop" only because of the still growing market demand, Wang added.
The global sales of phablets will hit 60.4 million units in 2013, up from 25.6 million last year, IHS iSuppli said.