Meanwhile, Huawei has become the second largest smartphone brand in China, only trailing behind Xiaomi. As for foreign brands, Apple is still strongly favored by Chinese consumers, with iPhones dominating the top-3 foreign smartphone models.

By collecting data from China's most influential social network platform Sina Weibo, MIC further finds that, to Internet shoppers in China, smartphone brands Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei fall into the category of "mainstay products with high reviews." Smartphone buyers of these three brands posted favorable reviews on C/P (cost-performance) ratio and operational readiness.

By contrast, Samsung, which is also a mainstay brand, received average reviews, as buyers complained about product quality and difficulty in obtaining repair services. In terms of niche products, Vivo, with its powerful entertainment functions, had high reviews and is favored by younger consumers.

Figure 1