Shipments of smartphones in the China market totaled 230 million units in the first half of 2017, down 1.4% from a year earlier, according to data compiled by China-based Sigmaintell Consulting.

China-based vendors shipped 290 million smartphones to markets outside China during the January-June period, down 6.2% on year.

Despite decreased shipments in the first half, vendors including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi fared rather well in overseas markets, buoyed by upgrades in hardware specifications and integration of their sales platforms, said the market research firm.

Of total smartphone shipments in China in the first half, models built using LCD in-cell panels accounted for 71 million units, increasing 46.2% from a year earlier, the data indicated. Huawei was the top vendor of in-cell panel smartphones with shipments totaling 25 million units.

Oppo and Vivo, while strengthening their deployments in the AMOLED segment, also began to use in-cell panels in the second half of 2016. As a result, Oppo shipped 6.8 million in-cell smartphones in the first half of 2017, while Vivo also rolled out 4.5 million in-cell smartphones during the same period.

Meanwhile, shipments of AMOLED-based smartphones in China slid 13.8% on year to 37.4 million units in the first half of 2017 as some vendors such as Oppo shifted part of their production to in-cell models, Sigmaintell indicated.

Oppo and Vivo were top-two AMOLED smartphones in China in the first half, with their respective shipments reaching 13.8 million and 13 million units. Combined shipments of AMOLED models from the two vendors accounted for 71% of total AMOLED smartphones shipped in China during the six-month period.

Looking into the second half, supplies of in-cell and LTPS panels are expected to tighten up as compared to the first half as more vendors are adopting 18:9 all-scree panels, which will consume more glass substrates, said industry sources.

Demand for AMOLED panels will also continue to surge as vendors including Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi are scrambling to secure sufficient the needed panels for their high-end models, said the sources.