The Oppo R9s was the best-selling smartphone in China in Q1 2017, resonating well with our global list of best-selling smartphones in the first quarter, published in early May by Strategy Analytics’ Smartphone Model Tracker (SMT) service. Also generally speaking, Oppo had a very strong quarter in China, growing its shipments by nearly 60%, which earned the vendor the second place in the market in terms of shipments. Only its rival Huawei was just slightly ahead in shipments. Oppo and Huawei captured the bulk of the places on the top-10 list of best-selling smartphones in China in Q1. Vivo, another fast-growing domestic smartphone vendor, was represented by two models on the list. The only overseas vendor on the list was Apple, with its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus taking a substantial dip from Q4 2016 but still performing well.

Going further down the list, we start to see models from Xiaomi as well as more models from Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei, but it’s striking how absent foreign brands really are. The difficulties that major players such as Apple and Samsung experience in the country highlight just how difficult entry to the market is. At SA, we have long experience in tracking and analyzing the Chinese smartphone market and can help you define your go-to-market strategy for best performance.

Interested in seeing the top-100 list of best-selling smartphones sold in China in Q1 2017, complete with shipments and market share? It’s available in the just published report China : Smartphone Shipments & Marketshare by Model: Q1 2017. Clients of our SMT service can view the report here.