New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS): The smartphone shipments in China have witnessed a drop of five per cent (year-on-year) in the third quarter (Q3) of this year to 66.7 million handsets as competition intensifies, a new report said on Thursday.

According to market research firm Canalys, the Honor smartphone brand secured the top position with an 18 per cent market share and 11.8 million shipments, while Huawei continued to gain market share and inch its way towards the top players through its high-profile Mate series launches.

"The Huawei Mate 60 series launch sparked the market. If Huawei expands the new Kirin chipset into its low-to-mid-range portfolio in the future, it has the potential to disrupt the competitive dynamic among leading vendors. Meanwhile, the Honor X50 series focuses on durability improvement as a new unique selling point, adding momentum to shipments in the third quarter," said Canalys Research Analyst Lucas Zhong.

OPPO (including OnePlus) followed Honor with 10.9 million shipments, securing second spot. Apple came in third with 10.6 million shipments, benefiting from its new launch.

vivo, with a cautious shipment strategy, held fourth position with a 16 per cent market share. Xiaomi's hot-selling series maintained its momentum, with a slight increase in market share to 14 per cent, securing the fifth spot, the report showed.

"The market has bottomed out in 2023 as vendors steadfastly invest and refine channel incentive policies, and there is an expected gradual demand recovery," said Canalys Senior Analyst Toby Zhu.

"The market shows that, despite prolonged replacement cycles, consumers are still willing to pay for products within their budget that offer attractive value propositions," he added.