Telecom
OPPO, Huawei & vivo Grab Nearly Half China’s Smartphone Market in 2016- Report
According to the latest IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the smartphone market in China saw a 19% YoY growth and 17% QoQ growth in 2016Q4.
For the full year of 2016, the market grew by 9% with top Chinese smartphone vendors taking up a larger share of the market.
The 4 Chinese vendors in the top five were the same in 2015, and their share grew from 46% in 2015 to 57% in 2016. This shows the growing local acceptance of Chinese vendors in its home country with the improvement in product features and better marketing messages seen in the past year.
“Increased dependence on mobile apps has led to consumers to seek phone upgrades, thus helping drive the large growth in 2016Q4. In lower tiered cities, there was a similar demand by consumers, which OPPO and vivo met by aggressively pushing mid-range smartphones in these cities,” said Tay X iaohan, Senior Market Analyst with IDC Asia/Pacific’s Client Devices team.
2016 was the first time ever that Apple saw a YoY decline in the PRC market. Even though the new black colored iPhones caught the attention of consumers, overall, the new launches did not create as much of a frenzy compared to the past.
Despite the decline, IDC does not believe Chinese vendors have actually eaten away Apple’s market share.
Most Apple users are expected to be holding out for the new iPhone that will be launched this year, and that will help the brand to see a growth in 2017. Apple’s 10-year anniversary iPhone will also likely attract some of the high-end Android users in China to convert to an iPhone.
A key trend that stood out in 2016 was the slowdown of the growth of the online channel in China.
There is no longer a single channel that is seeing exponential growth for smartphones unlike previous years. Most brands are now using a combination of channels to increase their shipments.
Xiaomi, previously focused on online channels, has opened more Mi Home stores to drive offline growth. Apple has also been aggressive in increasing its offline retail presence. Some vendors outside the top five vendor list in 2016, e.g. Gionee, also saw good growth in 2016 due to its expansion in the offline channel in the lower tiered cities.
To differentiate itself from OPPO and vivo who predominantly target a younger audience, Gionee has been targeting professionals and executives, and hence found a niche market for itself to stand out against its two competitors.
Here’s a quick view of what to expect from the China smartphone market in 2017:
Top vendors will continue to take up a larger share of the market while smaller brands will begin consolidation. 360 stopped launching phones under the Dazen and Qiku brands in 2017, and this will happen for more brands in 2017.
Chinese vendors will continue to focus on their international expansion plans. At present, out of the top three Chinese vendors in China, Huawei is the most successful with half of its shipments coming from markets outside China in 2016Q4. We expect these vendors to increase their shipments in the international market, with India as a key target for these top Chinese vendors.
Chinese vendors are starting to launch phones with dual cameras and curved screens. We expect that to be the norm for most flagships in 2017. Cameras will continue to be a key focus in the marketing messages by vendors especially given the strong selfie culture in China, as exemplified by the popularity of apps such as Meitu.
Similarly, Chinese vendors will be aggressive with other new technologies such as flexible screens, augmented reality, and other new areas. In the past year, vendors such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and LeEco developed phones with dual cameras, thin bezels, and digital headphone connectors well before many overseas vendors did. Bold experimentation is likely, even if such technologies might not immediately lead to higher shipments.
SHELT, a leading cybersecurity-as-a-service provider, has earned inclusion in the 2025 MSSP 250, the annual ranking of the world’s top 250 Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) by MSSP Alert, a CyberRisk Alliance publication.
SHELT
The list evaluates firms on business performance, service breadth, and industry impact, spotlighting those excelling in growth, operational excellence, and advanced managed security amid rising cyber threats. Selection criteria include annual recurring revenue, profitability, workforce expansion, business growth, and the depth of managed security offerings.
SHELT’s recognition underscores its investments in scalable security operations, threat intelligence, and tailored managed services across multiple regions, enabling clients to navigate complex risk landscapes effectively.
“Being recognised in the MSSP 250 is a meaningful milestone for our team,” stated Youssef Abillama, CEO of SHELT. “It validates our focus on building practical, resilient security services that help organisations manage risk and respond effectively to today’s evolving cyber threats.”
The company hailed the honour as testament to its teams’ dedication and expertise worldwide, reaffirming commitment to enhancing capabilities and delivering trusted cybersecurity solutions.
Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, has appointed Dina Powell McCormick, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, as its new president and vice chairman, bolstering its leadership amid aggressive AI and infrastructure expansion.
Dina Powell McCormick
The announcement, made on Monday, positions Powell McCormick – who recently stepped down from Meta’s board after eight months – to guide overall strategy, including multi-billion-dollar investments in data centres and global partnerships.
A Goldman Sachs veteran with 16 years in senior roles and prior stints as deputy national security adviser under Trump and in the Bush administration, she brings deep finance and international ties to the role.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hailed her as “uniquely qualified” for the company’s next growth phase, while President Trump praised the move on Truth Social as a “fantastic choice”.
The hire signals Meta’s efforts to strengthen White House relations, following recent dinners with Trump and U.S. investment pledges worth hundreds of billions
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has suspended the @Twitter account, replacing its profile with a standard notice citing violation of platform rules.
Musk
The action, which occurred on Sunday, January 11, left users encountering the handle greeted by a bold “Account Suspended” message on a black screen, with no details provided on the specific rules broken or the duration of the suspension.
The development has sparked widespread confusion and nostalgia among users, given that Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X in July 2023, approximately six months after acquiring the platform for $44 billion in late 2022.
The @Twitter handle had remained dormant since before Musk’s takeover, serving as a legacy remnant of the platform’s original branding, and its suspension appears to mark the final erasure of the Twitter name amid X’s ongoing efforts to combat spam, impersonation, and rule violations.
X’s official statement on the suspended page simply reads: “X suspends accounts that violate our rules,” without offering an appeal process or further explanation, unlike standard user suspensions.
Public reactions on social media ranged from humorous laments of “RIP Twitter” to speculation that the move resulted from automated moderation or a deliberate cleanup of legacy trademarks.
xAI’s Grok AI described it as a purposeful retirement of outdated elements rather than a genuine infraction, while neither Elon Musk nor X spokespeople issued any comment as of Monday morning.
This incident underscores the evolving identity of the platform under Musk’s ownership, which also saw a domain shift to x.com in 2024, further distancing it from its Twitter roots.
Industry observers note that while the suspension aligns with X’s stricter enforcement policies, the lack of transparency has fueled debates on consistency in applying rules to high-profile legacy accounts.
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