China's December 2023 Domestic Handset Shipments Up 2% YoY, Down 9% MoM
CAICT, 1/22/24
A total of 28.28 mln mobile handsets were shipped in China in December 2023, up 1.5% YoY but down 9.4% MoM, according to new figures released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a department of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Of total shipments in December, 24.20 mln, or 85.6%, were 5G handsets, 3.95 mln, or 14.0%, were 4G handsets, and the remaining 0.13 mln, or 0.4%, were 3G and 2G handsets. Note that CAICT breaks out shipment figures only for 5G and 4G models, to the nearest 1,000 units and 10,000 units, respectively; accordingly, the 3G/2G figures we have provided here are calculated using CAICT's total, 5G, and 4G figures, and may include a rounding error of up to 10,000 units.
In the 12-month period from Jan-Dec 2023, a total of 289.12 mln mobile handsets were shipped in China, up 6.5% YoY. Of this total, 239.44 mln, or 82.8%, were 5G handsets, 48.57 mln, or 16.8%, were 4G handsets, and the remaining 1.11 mln, or 0.4%, were 3G and 2G handsets.
A total of 24.55 mln handsets from domestic handset brands were shipped in China in December, up 11.7% YoY but down 3.5% MoM, accounting for 86.8% of total handset shipments. Shipments of smartphones comprised 26.84 mln units, flat YoY and down 10.1% MoM, accounting for 94.9% of total handsets shipped in China in December.
In the 12-month period from Jan-Dec 2023, 231.14 mln handsets from domestic handset brands were shipped in China, up 1.1% YoY, accounting for 79.9% of total handset shipments. During the same 12-month period, shipments of smartphones comprised 276.43 mln, or 95.6%, of total handsets shipped in China.
During the month of December, 26 new handset models were released in China, down 38.1% YoY and 13.3% MoM. Of the total new handset models released during the month, 11, or 42.3%, were 5G models, 15, or 57.7%, were 4G models, and none were 3G or 2G models; 100% of the new handset models were from domestic brands, and 19, or 73.1%, were smartphone models.
In the 12-month period from Jan-Dec 2023, 441 new handset models were released in China, up 4.3% YoY; of this total, 214, or 48.5%, were 5G models, 223, or 50.6%, were 4G models, and 4, or 0.9%, were 3G or 2G models. Of the total new handset models released from Jan-Dec 2023, 406, or 92.1%, were from domestic brands, and 356, or 80.7%, were smartphone models.
Editor's Note: CAICT's statistics cover domestically produced, domestically shipped handsets from both Chinese and foreign brands, but do not include imported handsets or exports of domestically produced units. Only handsets shipped through official channels are included, meaning grey market or knock-off handsets are not covered in CAICT's figures. "Shipped" means only that the manufacturer shipped the handset to a wholesaler or retailer, where it may or may not have been sold to a consumer during the month under discussion.
Keywords: handset smartphone wireless 4G MIIT 3G 5G CAICT handset model shipment volume national statistics domestic vendor