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[ggx2ac]

A lot more at the link: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Co...-way-to-Chinese-smartphones-in-Southeast-Asia

While the iPhone and Samsung Electronics ' Galaxy lead the global smartphone market by sales, Southeast Asia's consumer landscape looks different. In a region home to some 600 million people, Chinese vendors are gaining ground, with one in five smartphones shipped locally now Chinese brands.

Oppo and Vivo are Chinese Smartphone brands that are becoming popular at one particular shop in Thailand, thanks to advertising their phones being used by Thai celebrities.

One store owner, Suwimol Khongsiriphaiboon, began offering Oppo and Vivo smartphones three years ago after becoming acquainted with the brands in China.

Both are produced by the Guangdong province-based BBK Electronics, and both were almost totally unknown in Thailand until recently. Today, however, Suwimol said Oppo and Vivo were some of her best selling products. Chinese brands, including Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, account for about half of the 70 handset sales her shop makes every month, and the shift in customer demand to Chinese smartphones has been much swifter than Suwimol could have imagined. "Oppo and Vivo are now very popular brands, thanks to effective advertising using famous Thai actors and actresses," she said.

These Chinese smartphones are not considered outdated (subjectively), with 20MP cameras their high-end models are half the price of an iPhone X.

Chinese smartphones are priced at around $500 at the high end of the market, yet they are not outdated knock-offs of earlier generation Samsung and Apple models, with 20-megapixel cameras and high-resolution liquid crystal displays considered standard.
At Suwimol's shop, Vivo's V5Plus model is available for 12,000 baht ($362), a little over half the price of the Galaxy S7.

Not only Thailand, but in Vietnam, Oppo has reached 20% market share being second to Samsung.

The rise of Chinese smartphones is not a phenomenon confined to Thailand. In Vietnam, Oppo's market share has already surpassed 20%, second only to Samsung's. Consumers in emerging markets, where budgets for smartphones are limited, increasingly see Chinese brands as attractive choice.

A table that summarises the change in Smartphone market share (%) from 2012 to 2016. Covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Oppo and Vivo are paying the salaries of salespeople at dealerships as an aggressive marketing tactic to get more sales.

Chinese smartphone companies are also known for their aggressive retailing tactics. At Suwimol's shop in Bangkok, a buyer of Vivo V5Plus can get wireless earphone, a car charger, a protective case and a sheet of film to protect screen as complimentary extras. In Malaysia, where Apple is still second on market share, Oppo and Vivo's marketing blitz is so aggressive that they are paying the salaries of salespersons on behalf of dealers.

Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi has also been competing with Oppo and Vivo, now trying to get phones sold locally through dealerships, they are also opening their own retail stores.

Competition between Chinese companies is also intensifying. Xiaomi, which so far has been selling its products directly to end users through e-commerce in Malaysia, started pushing its products through dealers in May to compete with Oppo and Vivo. It opened its first retail experience store in Penang and is planning for another in Kuala Lumpur by the end of the year, allowing the brand's followers, known as Mi fans, to try out other home appliance products.

Smartphone demand in southeast Asia to reach 234 million units this year.

In emerging Asia, a region which comprises seven countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and India, overall smartphone demand will total 234 million units in 2017, an 11% increase year-on-year, according to market research firm GfK. The rise of Chinese brands is signaling a new era to match this demand.

The expensive price tag for iPhone X will make it difficult for Apple to keep hold of their consumers in these emerging markets.

It does not appear that the latest iPhone will lure back Indonesian and other Southeast Asian consumers who have already embraced Chinese brands. After new iPhone models were unveiled in California last week, it was clear that Apple has resolved to push ahead in its pursuit of greater technological sophistication for its smartphone line. The resulting price tag of the iPhone X will make it hard for the company to claw back ground across the region.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

I just got a Xiaomi Redmi a few weeks ago. Pretty amazing hardware for the price.

 

[Fuchsdh]

Ultimately, Apple is going to care more about money than market share, always will have. Doesn't seem like the stickiness of the ecosystem has worked out well for them in Asia, especially in China, where WeChat is basically the platform, not iOS. Apple isn't and never has been interested in chasing budget markets.

Also, not sure how you'd go about competing with firms that are literally willing to buy off salespeople without doing the same, and against a fiercely protective imports system.

 

[nephilimdj]

Samsung are yet to put out a decent budget phone, noone wants to pay 300USD for a Galaxy J series
Basically damaging there own brand with shit overpriced phones that dilute the galaxy brand

 

[RumblingRosco]

Interesting seeing these trends. Anecdotally, I'll say that Huawei is a crap company given what happened with the Nexus 6P and how little support they're giving people. My 6P died 3 months out of warranty, and so while I'm not surprised they didn't help me, it's pretty shitty that a phone with widespread failure isn't made an exception. Won't touch Huawei products ever again.

 

[Hattori]

good for Oppo, I'm a fan of their products especially their high quality blu-ray players

 

[MUnited83]

I just got a Xiaomi Redmi a few weeks ago. Pretty amazing hardware for the price.

Yep, got myself a Redmi Note 3 Pro, great little device.

 

[ponpo]

Oppo and Xiaomi are great.

 

[Raysoul]

There is a sudden boost in Oppo and Vivo kiosk and stores here in the Philippines. I can't say anything about the quality. Also, Apple still feels like a premium product here, and I know that people that buy the new iPhone not because of the specs, but because of the brand.

 

[Shiggy]

Oppo and Vivo are paying the salaries of salespeople at dealerships as an aggressive marketing tactic to get more sales.

Samsung and other firms actually do the same in Germany. They send in their own staff to electronic stores to promote their products, and customers cannot really see that these people aren't actually working for the electronics store and thus aren't giving an objective overview of different products. In some stores salespeople sent by producers amount to up to 80% of total sales staff.

 

[Qvoth]

still using my oneplus one
tempted with xiaomi mix 2 as of now

 

[Windam]

I wonder if OnePlus is factored into these Oppo numbers, or what their sales are like for that matter.

 

[darkwing]

Xiaomi is also good

 

[Nightengale]

I wonder if OnePlus is factored into these Oppo numbers, or what their sales are like for that matter.

OnePlus barely exist in Southeast Asia.

 

[sixteen-bit]

is huawei a good brand? they have a few phones with leica brand optics and i wonder if they're up to snuff outside of the camera features.

 

[ponpo]

is huawei a good brand? they have a few phones with leica brand optics and i wonder if they're up to snuff outside of the camera features.

Outside of the battery issues they had with the 6p, yes, though I haven't seen a new model from them in a while.

 

[Patrick S.]

Samsung are yet to put out a decent budget phone, noone wants to pay 300USD for a Galaxy J series
Basically damaging there own brand with shit overpriced phones that dilute the galaxy brand

My wife just bough a J5 and it's damn awesome for the €230 it cost. Can you tell me why her phone is shit? Because it has a "J" in its name and not an "S"? I couldn't care less about that.

 

[emag]

These Chinese smartphones are not considered outdated

Apart from having A53 cores and Android 6.0, like Oppo's "high end" 2017 devices?

 

[ggx2ac]

Apart from having A53 cores and Android 6.0, like Oppo's "high end" 2017 devices?

I'm just quoting the article. I don't have that much insight into their phones.

Edit: Decided to add (subjectively) to that outdated quote.

 

[Apathy]

I got a xiaomi redmi 4 for $200 cad, pretty nice for the price and does what I need it to do

 

[Cow Mengde]

Apart from having A53 cores and Android 6.0, like Oppo's "high end" 2017 devices?

If it runs Honor of Kings, then people in Asia won't complain.

 

[Carlius]

I just got a Xiaomi Redmi a few weeks ago. Pretty amazing hardware for the price.

yes...redmi note 3 pro i got 3 months ago..fucking incredible phone lol

 

[RS4-]

Xiaomi all day.

Except for the sorta wank camera. RN3P for a little over a year now

 

[airborn]

The shift towards Chinese brands is also happening in Eastern Europe, with Huawei, Xiaomi and Meizu having double digit market share in countries like Poland and Ukraine.

Vivo is an interesting company to keep an eye on. They seem to be willing to spend big on marketing (FIFA World Cup, Indian Cricket).

 

[Patrick S.]

Cheap brands I see in Germany are mostly Huawei, ZTE, and less often Wiko. Xiaomi I've only seen online.

 

[afroguy10]

Just recently upgraded my OnePlus One for a OnePlus Five and I love it.