China Smartphone Tracker (August): Further deceleration

Based on CINNO's China smartphone sell-through data, the tracker reviews August shipments and price mix. In August, China smartphone sell-through declined 11% MoM and 27% YoY to 17.2M units, driven by the absence of promotions, fatigue of government subsidies, and elevated selling prices for both new and old models; cumulative 8M26 shipment was down 11% YoY. By price tier, mid-tier (RMB2-5K) was most resilient and barely flat YoY, high-tier (above RMB5K) fell 16% YoY, and low-tier (below RMB2K) dropped 53% YoY, with low-tier mix hitting a record low of 28%. Huawei was the only OEM with positive YoY growth (+12%), driven mainly by products with ASP below RMB5K, while its premium models (ASP≥RMB6K) fell 23% YoY, suggesting the Kirin 9030 chip on SMIC's N+3 node is not competitive in premium, leaving Huawei structurally disadvantaged without EUV;