By Li Panpan

China’s mobile phone shipments have fallen sharply to 21.46 million in March, a year-on-year decrease of 40.5%, said an analysis report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) on May 16. 

The report also said China’s mobile phone shipments in the first quarter totaled 69.346 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 29.2%. 

The industry is like entering a cold winter, an industry observer commented. The continued outbreak of the pandemic and lockdown in many cities have disrupted the offline market and affected people’s lives. 

The impact is still severe from April to May. Many mobile phone manufacturers are betting on the online shopping spree around June 18. However, it’s not easy to copy last year’s success. 

Many phone brands, including Xiaomi, are preparing to increase high-end market shares. 

According to Beijing-based tech news agency TechWeb, Xiaomi has three new models approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on May 16, namely 2203121C, 2206123SC, 2206122SC, with corresponding specific devices Xiaomi 12 Ultra, Xiaomi 12S, and Xiaomi 12S Pro.

The Mi 12S and Mi 12S Pro are upgraded versions of the Mi 12 series, powered by TSMC’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ chip.

Due to the severe heating of the Samsung OEM version of the Snapdragon 8, many flagship models met market skeptics, and the Xiaomi Mi 12 series is no exception. 

It remains unknown whether the TSMC version is better. The long-awaited Mi 12 Ultra will be the key for the company to win high-end market shares in the first half of 2022.