In the domestic market, domestic mobile phone brands were doing well, but those that relied solely on the domestic market did not rank high in the global market. On the contrary, domestic mobile phone brands that ranked at the top of the global market had a significant market share in overseas markets. Two domestic mobile phone brands, however, relied entirely on overseas markets and were able to rank among the top 10 in the global mobile phone market.

Market analysis firm TechInsights released the list of the top 10 mobile phone brands in the global market for the third quarter. Apart from Samsung and Apple, the other eight brands were all Chinese mobile phone brands, indicating that Chinese mobile phone brands have captured a majority of the global market share, accounting for approximately 60% of the market.

Among these mobile phone brands, Transsion and Lenovo MOTO have almost no sales in the domestic market, with their primary focus being overseas markets. Transsion, which once grew rapidly and ranked among the top four globally due to its strong presence in overseas markets, has seen its sales impacted significantly by patent litigation with Qualcomm in recent quarters, causing it to slip to sixth place globally.

Lenovo MOTO ranks seventh globally, holding a 12% market share in the US market and being the third-largest mobile phone brand in the country. Lenovo mobile phones have developed steadily in overseas markets over the past two years, rising from ninth place to seventh place. It recorded the fastest growth among the top 10 global mobile phone brands in the third quarter.

In the early years, Lenovo mobile phones were very strong in the domestic market, once ranking first among domestic mobile phone brands. However, due to various factors, Lenovo mobile phones did not perform well in the domestic market. Nowadays, almost all sales are from MOTO brand phones in overseas markets. After stabilizing its position in recent years, Lenovo has continued to grow.

In the early years, domestic mobile phones relied on the domestic market to rank among the top globally, thanks to the significant influence of the domestic market during its peak. In 2016, China sold 470 million mobile phones, accounting for 34% of the global mobile phone market share. In 2023, China sold 270 million mobile phones, with its share of the global mobile phone market dropping to 22.5%.

The decline in domestic sales has led to a drop in the global ranking of mobile phone brands that primarily dominate the domestic market. To rank among the top global mobile phone brands, it is necessary to gain an advantage in overseas markets.

Among the top seven mobile phone brands, with the exception of Transsion and Lenovo, which are almost entirely focused on overseas markets, Xiaomi sells 70% of its phones overseas, while OPPO and vivo sell approximately half of their phones overseas. This demonstrates the importance of overseas markets to these domestic mobile phone brands.

The continuous decline in mobile phone sales in the domestic market is due to domestic mobile phone brands abandoning the low-end market. They are all targeting the so-called high-end mobile phone market, while misleading domestic consumers with mid-range phones by relabeling 2022 chips and even using 2018 chips for relaunch, leading to domestic consumers' reluctance to purchase mid-range and low-end phones. Consumers' phone replacement cycle has increased from 18 months in the early days to 36 months now.

Domestic mobile phone prices in the domestic market have been continuously surging, while they aggressively sell low-priced phones in overseas markets. The prices of their phones sold in overseas markets are as low as below 500 Chinese yuan. The ultra-low prices provide benefits to overseas consumers, while domestic consumers can only choose phones priced above 2000 Chinese yuan.

Faced with this reality, domestic mobile phone brands are actively expanding into overseas markets. However, overseas markets pose higher risks. Currently, India, the largest overseas market for domestic mobile phones, is under pressure. India has taken various measures to suppress Chinese mobile phones and support local brands like Lava. Nevertheless, due to the lack of strength of Indian local mobile phone brands, Chinese mobile phone brands still dominate the Indian market.