Achieve the first rebound in nearly 10 quarters! Why are domestic mobile phones so hard to find?

Why is it so hard to find a domestic mobile phone?

　　High-quality supply in the mobile phone market can not only meet the escalating consumer demand, but also stimulate the willingness to upgrade consumption and release new development momentum.

With the ability to innovate with the times and cultivate more new productive forces, domestic mobile phones and even Chinese manufacturing can be more competitive.

　　Recently, data from multiple market research institutions show that in the fourth quarter of 2023, China’s smartphone market achieved year-on-year growth, achieving its first rebound in nearly 10 quarters.

At the same time, many domestic mobile phones are still experiencing a hot situation of "hard to find".

The mobile phone market, which has been sluggish in recent years, has ushered in a dawn, which fully proves that high-quality supply can effectively lead new consumer demands.

　　The recovery of China's smartphone market is due to the influence of the replacement cycle and market trends.

In recent years, the replacement cycle of Android phones has generally been 3 to 5 years.

Judging from the peak of the last round of shipments, the market will enter a new replacement cycle at the end of 2023.

In addition, the global smartphone market has continued to decline in the past three years, with a low base in the same period last year. In addition, the market's self-adjustment has brought about a bottoming out.

Judging from the data for the fourth quarter of 2023, the global smartphone market has also recovered significantly.

In late 2023, precisely because of their optimistic expectations for the market, many mobile phone manufacturers released new products in advance, adding "fire" to the market and accelerating the pace of market recovery.

　　Take Huawei’s strong comeback as an example.

In August 2023, Huawei launched the Mate 60 series of mobile phones, equipped with a new Kirin chip and the self-developed Hongmeng operating system. It has received market praise such as "powerful performance, silky smoothness", etc., and it is still "hard to find" since its launch.

Data from research institutions show that in the first two weeks of 2024, Huawei returned to the top spot in the domestic smartphone market.

Starting from the third quarter of 2023, Huawei's mobile phone sales began to grow against the trend. In the fourth quarter, sales increased by as much as 71.1% year-on-year, and its domestic market share increased to 15.2%.

　　It should be noted that the recovery of the mobile phone market does not mean that every mobile phone is "hard to find".

Smartphones have already entered the stock market. On the one hand, there is a slowdown in market growth, and on the other hand, there is a continuous increase in R&D investment and innovation costs. The market polarization is obvious, and high-endization is the way out.

Previously, Apple mobile phones relied on leading innovation and a complete ecosystem to create high brand recognition and occupy a leading advantage in the high-end market.

Now, Huawei is expected to follow the same path.

The brand loyalty, differentiated innovation capabilities, and increasingly improved industrial chain and ecosystem demonstrated by Huawei's return this time cannot be formed overnight.

Before being suppressed, Huawei was the representative brand of domestic high-end mobile phones.

Public data shows that in 2019, Huawei surpassed Apple in global smartphone shipments and ranked second.

　　"One machine is hard to find" also shows that there is still an increase in the stock, and good products always have a way out.

Innovation leads consumption, and there are examples everywhere.

For example, foldable screen mobile phones, which have bucked the trend in recent years, have significantly improved in appearance; currently hot new models cater to new consumer demands such as large models and satellite calls; "5G + artificial intelligence" mobile phones have embarked on the transition from 4G to 5G node.

By digging deeper into new technologies such as storage, imaging, and connectivity, and solving difficulties such as thinness, speed, and battery life, new growth points in the mobile phone market will continue to emerge.

High-quality supply can not only meet the escalating consumer demand, but also stimulate the willingness to upgrade consumption and release new development momentum.

　　Innovation never ends.

The history and reality of the development of domestic mobile phones and even Chinese manufacturing tell us that the era of relying on imitative innovation to gain a foothold has passed. Only disruptive innovation and original innovation will have a more promising future.

The new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation are advancing by leaps and bounds, and technological development is changing with each passing day.

Just as it was digital cameras that defeated film, and mobile phones that defeated digital cameras, the mobile phones of the future may not be what they are now.

But no matter what, only by having the innovation power to keep pace with the times and cultivating more new productive forces can domestic mobile phones and even Chinese manufacturing be more competitive.

(Economic Daily)