In smartphone market.
Huawei and Oppo mobile phone handsets are the fastest growing in the Australian market, according to new Roy Morgan research.
Over the last two years the number of Australians aged over 14 owning Huawei handsets has grown 87% to 471,000 in the 12 months to September 2018. Rival handset maker Oppo, which only entered the Australian market in late 2014, has grown from a standing start to be Australia’s seventh most widely held handset with 368,000 Australians owning Oppo handsets.
However, although the two Chinese handset makers are growing faster than any of the other leading handset makers, they remain well behind Apple and Samsung.
The Apple iPhone is used by over 8.6 million Australians, up 16% on two years ago, while Samsung handsets are used by over 5.6 million Australians in 2018, virtually unchanged on two years ago.
Over half of Australians owning Huawei handsets (54%) and nearly two-thirds of Australians owning Oppo handsets (64%) are either Millennials or Generation Z. This is far higher than for ownership of all mobile phone handsets. Under half of Australians with mobile phone handsets (45%) are Millennials or Generation Z.
Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine said, “Chinese smartphone handset maker Huawei has been in the news for all sorts of reasons in recent weeks and months however the performance of Huawei in the competitive Australian handset market reveals Huawei, along with rival Chinese firm Oppo, is making significant inroads.
“The recent controversies surrounding Huawei, which is also a significant manufacturer of important network infrastructure, are a concern for the company as it seeks to continue its strong growth in the Australian mobile phone handset market.”