Strategy Analytics expected the sales of LTE phones in China to reach 135 million units this year, accounting for 34 percent in total smartphone sales there.In other words, three or four out of ten smartphones will be replaced by the latest LTE smartphones.
The rapid expansion of China’s LTE market is expected to bring new opportunities for global companies like Samsung and LG. Samsung Electronics, for example, sold about 100 million smartphones in China last year, ranking No. 1 in terms of market share there.
China’s LTE smartphone market opened in December 2013. The LTE market, which was launched three months ago and accounted for a share of only 6 percent in total smartphone market there, is expected to grow 547 percent this year.
Strategy Analytics predicted that the sales of LTE phones in China would reach 231 million units in 2014, up more than 100 million units this year, and 360 million units in 2018, with its share in total smartphone market rising to over 80 percent.