Handset ODM Industry White Paper

In 2019, the global smartphone market shipped 1.38 billion units, down 2.2% year-over year (YoY). The mature markets such as North America, South America, Western Europe, and China all declined. China’s market though is going through a transition period from 4G to 5G, and the shipments of mid- to high-end 4G smartphone models fell sharply in 2H19. China’s market shipped 361 million smartphones in 2019, a YoY decline of 7.6%. In the early stage of 5G switching, the operator’s network coverage was insufficient. Consequently, 5G chipset restrictions led to excessive costs, and expectations of 5G led to short-term consumption suppression. The proportion of 5G smartphone shipments was relatively small while shipments of mid- to high-end 4G models declined sharply.