BBC on January 26, 2018 reported that China's smartphone market has fallen for the first time since 2009, with annual shipments down by 4% in 2017, according to data from research firm Canalys. However, Smartphone brands Huawei, Oppo and Vivo continue to dominate the Chinese handset market and despite the overall slowdown of the market, Huawei saw double-digit growth. Over the last two years, smaller Chinese Android smartphone brands have risen, offering faster entry-level phones at much more affordable prices. Targetting the poorer rural customers, Oppo and Vivo - both owned by reclusive billionaire Duan Yong Ping - have chosen to eschew online and instead open retail stores on high streets in rural provinces.
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