(Yicai Global) July 27 -- China’s mobile phone shipments narrowed their decline in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, but overall the market is likely to remain lackluster this year, according to a recent report.

China’s handset sales dipped 2.1 percent in the three months ended June 30 from the same period last year to 65.7 million units, according to a report released today by market research firm IDC. This is a big improvement on the 11.8 percent year-on-year plunge in the first quarter.

China’s smartphone market did not meet expectations in the first half, sinking 7.4 percent from a year earlier to 130 million units, and there won’t be many trendy new product launches in the second half, said Guo Tianxiang, senior analyst at IDC China.

Consumer demand is weak, the report said. Even during the 618 online shopping bonanza in mid-June, when big discounts were on offer, mobile phone sales still slumped year on year.

There is unlikely to be a clear recovery until the fourth quarter and then it will probably only be a small rebound, Guo said.

Oppo was the best selling cellphone manufacturer in the second quarter with 17.7 percent market share, followed by Vivo with 17.2 percent and Honor with 16.4 percent. US tech giant Apple came fourth with 15.3 percent trailed by China’s Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies in fifth and sixth places with 13.1 percent and 13 percent of the market respectively.

Despite the sluggish market, sales of high-end smartphones costing USD600 and above did well, accounting for 23.1 percent of the market in the second quarter, an increase from 20 percent a year earlier, IDC said.

More Chinese smartphone makers will start rolling out more high-end products as the luxury phone market continues to grow, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor