The Chinese obsession with cracking down on Covid is having a similar effect as Mao Zedong's attempts to kill off sparrows and flies. 

Virtually all of the major players saw sales drop. Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei all saw double digit drops from Q2 2021. The Tame Apple Press has been claiming that Apple did not suffer, but it saw a 5.8 per cent drop and is not that big a player in China anyway.

Honor had a brilliant year. The Shenzhen-based Huawei spinoff effectively doubled its sales figures and moved from a 7.7-18.3% market share, while securing the number two spot between Vivo and Oppo.

Analyst Mengmeng Zhang said that with the lockdowns hitting major cities, Honor’s coverage in lower-tier cities, which saw fewer lockdowns, helped the brand steer through the turbulence in Q2 2022. It may be noted that Honor managed to take share from all the leading Chinese brands, including Huawei, during the quarter. It is time for Oppo and Vivo, known as the ‘offline channel kings,’ to take Honor seriously.”