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The year 2024 was a year of a lot of surprises in China’s extremely competitive smartphone market. For the whole year, vivo stands as the most-loved smartphone brand in China due to a fantastic combination of innovation, mid-range, and flagship smartphones. Nevertheless, this is the story of how everything flipped in Q4 and how Huawei came back into its own and dominated the scene in the last three months of the year.
Now let us consider specific details of the China market in 2024, how vivo managed to stay on top for most of the calendar year, and the factors that helped Huawei before the end of the year.
This paper sought to understand how vivo led in the Chinese Smartphone Market in 2024.
Vivo ranked at the top of China’s smartphone market for almost half of 2024 and has remained atop over the last few years. This was easier said than done like when the world of smartphone manufacturing was dominated by giants like Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor, and now the revived Huawei.
vivo’s dominance can be attributed to several key factors:
Wide Product Portfolio
vivo has further managed to launch a variety of smartphones that fit different classes in the market. Again this year the Chinese manufacturer has proved that it has something for everyone; from the Y series as an affordable yet functional line, through the V series that aims at the mid-range market, to the premium X line.
Their concentration was on new camera models, attractive looks and easily operatability that preserved their lead on rivals on the share of the market.
Strong Offline Presence
As in many developing markets where the influence of offline stores remains significant in making purchases, vivo had a well-developed offline presence. The emphasis on value added customer experiences in store destinations supplemented by glamorous sales promotions ensured them a firm grounding in the market.
5G Leadership
China has been leading in the adoption of 5G technology, and vivo was strategic to position most of its devices to support the 5G capabilities. vivo ensured 5G remains appealing even to the lower end market to capture a customer base interested in the new network technology.
Brand recognition strategies and market segmentation
Other trends include that vivo has continued to strengthen its strategic cooperation and marketing strategies. A list of sponsors, endorsers from pop culture, and advertisements promoting the DC us quality smartphone influenced by the vivo brand positioned itself at the forefront among Chinese consumers.
What Put Huawei in a Stronger Position in Fiscal Q4 2024?
It must be noted here that for majority of the time of the year, vivo was on top of its game; however tightening competition was witnessed during the month of fourth quarter. Surprisingly, Huawei, a brand that had been a victim of the US sanctions and global supply constraints in the last couple of years, hit back to reclaim the top position in Q4.
But what led to the Huawei’s Q4 breakout?
Cause of Popular of Huawei Mate 60 Pro
Surprisingly, the major contributing factor to this kind of turn around at Huawei was the almost record breaking performance of the Mate 60 Pro series. Released in late 2024, this flagship device created waves in the industry for several reasons:
Cutting-Edge Technology: The Mate 60 Pro was driven by the Huawei’s proprietary chip Kirin 9000S which is a big step forward for Huawei to be independent with chip production.
Advanced Satellite Connectivity: Two-way satellite messaging and calls were some of the features the Mate 60 Pro sought to adopt standing out from competitors whose emphasis was on the device’s technological advancement as well as outdoor activities enthusiasts.
Premium Build and Camera Excellence: Huawei sustained what it had been doing for years – providing first-rate camera with fine designs that the customer wanted on high-end mobile phones.
The Social Identity Model and the Idea of People’s Support and Preference of Brand
Huawei’s sell outs benefited from heightened patriotic consumption among consumers in the country throughout the year. People stood behind the brand to encourage its fight against the odds related to the question of international sanctions and translated their purchases into patriotism.
Human Element Accomplished: Better Supply Chain/Production
As the result of consistent chip deficits for several years, Huawei also posted much better results in Q4 2024 due to enhanced supply chain management. In acquiring its components and increasing the production rate, Huawei assured itself it could meet the increasing customer demand for its gadgets.
The Performance of the Competition in 2024
As vivo and Huawei leave a strong impression on the audience, other large players also tried to dictate their terms and gain their fair share.
Xiaomi’s Push for Innovation
China based Xiaomi continues to be one of the significant players in 2024 given that it adopted an aggressive strategy of providing maximum value for the money with a number of experimental gadgets. It had its win with foldable phones and AI cameras and was only surpassed by vivo and Huawei in market share.
Oppo’s Consistency
Oppo remained quite constant throughout the year, losing little market share with a range in mid-level and above smartphones with best-in-class camera capabilities. But it failed to carve out a niche for itself that would give it and vivo, which already had its fair share of the mobile market, an upper hand.
Honor’s Revival
Honor was part of Huawei and in 2024 it improved, especially its flagship devices intended for young consumers. One popular product was the foldable phone, Magic V2, but due to the overall sales it wasn’t capable of surpassing vivo or Huawei.
Key Market Trends in 2024
5G and Beyond
Subsequently, as more of China’s territory was covered with 5G, 5G supported devices began to be on the regular usage. Mobile phone manufacturers went a step further and included features with artificial intelligence and Internet of things connectivity.
Rise of Foldable Phones
Specifically, the year 2024 witnessed a further activities of foldable smartphones. That has been underscored by foldable devices such as Huawei’s Mate X5, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold and Honor’s Magic V2.
AI-Powered Features
Whether it is cameras or voice assistants, AI features were considered as a unique selling proposition in 2024. New features such as AI imaging was rolled out to Xiaomi and Oppo while Huawei used AI to enhance battery and operating power.
vivo vs. Huawei: The Final Showdown in 2024
Extremely nicely demonstrated by the struggles between vivo and Huawei, both of which are rooted in the evolving nature of China’s smartphone industry. On this front, while vivo held the competition well check for prolonged periods throughout the year mainly on topics like consistency, affordability, and new performance, the last year’s eruption shows that Huawei is the real game-changer that can take the market when it comes to imagination.
As Huawei finally stabilizes and vivo keeps pushing forward, 2025 should be yet another fun year for Chinese smartphone market.