OPPO beats Vivo, Huawei, Xiaomi to top smartphone market in China

This January, 2021, OPPO held the largest smartphone market share in China for the first time in history. They also became the #2 5G manufacturer in China. OPPO's smartphone market share in China reached 21% in January of 2021, beating Vivo, Huawei, Apple, Xiaomi, and the rest.

Per Counterpoint Research's Market Pulse Service, OPPO reached a point at which they beat out every other smartphone brand in the entirety of China. This is the first time in the brand's history that they've taken this spot in China, with blockbuster growth over the past several months.

Per Counterpoint, OPPO's sales grew 26% year-over-year compared to this same month in the year 2020. OPPO smartphone sales also grew 33% compared to December of 2020. "OPPO has been successfully able to reposition its product lines in 2020," said Varun Mishra, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research. "The rebranding of the Reno series and launching a more capable device at a lower price point than its predecessor helped OPPO capture the affordable premium segment."

It also helped that Huawei was effectively hobbled by legal actions on the part of the US government that led to breaks in supply lines and the company's ability to collaborate with brands of several sorts. As noted by Counterpoint, the decline of Huawei also "benefitted Xiaomi and vivo."

Of course, if we lump together each of the brands that live inside the BBK Electronics umbrella, they have a monstrous hold over China – and a whole lot of the rest of the world, too. BBK Group includes OPPO, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus, and others.

OPPO will be releasing their next major smartphone, the OPPO Find X3 Pro, on March 11, 2021. The release date for this smartphone is not yet known. Take a peek at the timeline below to see more recent OPPO updates.