Kitty Fok, IDC China Managing Director, said that the way Chinese people use smartphones has changed, especially among young generation who use smartphones less for voice communication and more for digital applications such as text, video, game, shopping, etc.

In tier 4-6 cities in China, without full popularization of PCs and tablets, smartphones are often the only devices for people to keep daily connection and entertainment, so bigger screen is more attracting.

Kitty Fok also think there will be some implications of Apple's bigger screen iPhone in the China market.

“We are expecting a replacement wave in Apple's installed base market in China.People are using smartphones more for digital applications than for voice, when digital applications replace voice as the primary function, smartphone manufacturers need to think of how they can make a smartphone more useful for the consumers.” Kitty Fok noted.

“High resolution, good camera, text system and others will become increasingly important.”