Lenovo and Xiaomi have lost their spots as the fourth and fifth largest largest smartphone manufacturers, according to
a study by IDC. The research firm found that the two companies had been pushed out of fourth and fifth place by two lesser-known Chinese companies, Oppo and Vivo, when looking at shipments over the first quarter of 2016.
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"Lenovo benefited with ASPs [average selling prices] below US$150 in 2013, and Xiaomi picked up the mantle with ASPs below US$200 in 2014 and 2015," writes IDC researcher Melissa Chau. "Now Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, which play mainly in the sub-US$250 range, are positioned for a strong 2016."
The implication is that Chinese consumers are starting to look for more out of their smartphones, and year after year have been willing to pay more to get it. Top-tier phones like the iPhone remain largely out of reach, but interested buyers are still gravitating toward modestly pricier phones.
"Our assumption is that once first time buyers get a taste of life with a smartphone, once it's time to buy a new device they look upstream a bit,"
