sandalwood

 Summary

1. In April, China's online smartphone market saw a 14% YoY drop in sales volume and an 8% drop in revenue. However, the average selling price (ASP) rose by 8%, indicating that rising storage costs are pushing up the overall price level. The 3K-4K segment became one of the few areas with growth (+5% in volume), demonstrating strong structural resilience.
2. Following the storage price hikes, the 2K-4K segment continues to rely mainly on 12GB RAM configurations. The 12GB+256GB combo rose to 41%, while 12GB+512GB remained at 28%, proving that this price range can still support comprehensive mainstream specs.
3. Top Android brands are collectively pushing upwards. Despite differing configuration strategies, the shared outcome is that more supply is being directed toward the 3K-4K price band and its surrounding tiers.
4. Core models driving the price hikes have gained share within the 3K-4K segment. The growth of key series—such as HONOR WIN (+5.6pct), iQOO Z (+3.5pct), and the HONOR Number series (+2.6pct)—further validates their role in capturing this market value.

April Market Under Pressure on Volume, but Rising Costs Push Prices Higher

In April 2026, China's online smartphone market entered its traditional off-season, with sales volume hitting a yearly low. Meanwhile, rising memory and storage costs pushed up terminal configuration expenses, making it increasingly difficult for lower price segments to sustain high-end specs.

On the demand side, consumers are rebalancing between "controllable budgets" and "no compromise on experience." This has driven the market's price center upward, even against a backdrop of shrinking demand.

According to Sandalwood's China e-commerce monitoring data, online smartphone sales volume in China fell 14% YoY in April, and revenue dropped 8% YoY. However, the average selling price (ASP) rose 8% YoY, further confirming this trend.

By price segment, the 1K-3K and 4K-6K ranges remained dominant in April, accounting for over 60% of the total share combined.

In terms of YoY performance, however, the 3K-4K segment was one of the few to see growth, with sales volume up 5% (share +1.9pct), significantly outperforming most other segments.

In contrast, the 1K-3K and 4K-6K segments saw YoY declines of 10%-20%, while the 0-1K and 6K-8K segments dropped by over 30%.

This indicates that under the combined pressure of rising costs and the off-season, the 3K-4K segment isn't seeing an absolute volume boom, but rather demonstrating stronger structural resilience

Storage Price Hikes Reshape Configuration Structure, Making 3K-4K the Balance Point for Experience and Price

In terms of memory and storage structure, the 12GB RAM combination remains the market's foundation, accounting for nearly half of the share, with the 12GB+512GB variant seeing a slight increase.

At the same time, the share of the 8GB combination rose to approximately 23%, with each configuration within this group increasing by 1-2pct. The 16GB combination accounts for about 22%, dominated by the 16GB+512GB variant, remaining overall stable.

Breaking it down by price segment, the configuration shifts become even clearer:

• 0K-2K: This segment has clearly pivoted towards 8GB combinations, which now account for a combined 51% share (a 9pct sequential increase). The 8GB+256GB configuration rose to 32%, becoming the dominant setup in the low-price segment.
• 2K-4K: This range remains dominated by 12GB combinations, holding a combined 70% share. The 12GB+256GB variant rose to 41%, while 12GB+512GB held steady at 28%, indicating that the mid-range segment can still accommodate comprehensive mainstream configurations.
• 4K+: This segment is evenly split between 12GB and 16GB combinations, with the 16GB+512GB variant further increasing to 33%.

This demonstrates that following the storage price hikes, the capacity of lower-priced segments to sustain high-end configurations has been compressed. Consequently, the 3K-4K price band has emerged as the critical equilibrium point where manufacturers can maintain specifications, user experience, and profit margins, while remaining acceptable to consumers.

Android Brands Concentrate Expansion in 3K-4K, Intensifying Price Band Competition

Looking at the price segment distribution within each brand, the 3K-4K range saw a notable increase across multiple Android manufacturers: realme grew by 14pct, HONOR and OnePlus both by 7pct, OPPO and VIVO by 6pct, while iQOO, Xiaomi, and Huawei also saw slight gains of 1-3pct. Only Apple experienced a decline.

This indicates that the growth in the 3K-4K segment is not driven by a single brand, but is the result of top Android brands collectively pushing upward.

In terms of configuration strategies, each brand has a different focus:

• Huawei, Samsung, and iQOO were primarily driven by growth in 8GB RAM combinations.
• Xiaomi, OPPO, and realme mainly saw growth in the 12GB+512GB and 16GB+512GB configurations.
• HONOR exerted simultaneous effort in both the 12GB+256GB and 8GB combinations.
• OnePlus focused mainly on the increase of 16GB+512GB.

Although the configuration strategies differ among brands, the shared outcome is that more core supply is being directed toward the 3K-4K price band and its surrounding tiers.

3K-4K Serves as a Key Landing Point for Price Adjustments, with Core Series Validating its Absorptive Value

Looking at the price-adjusted products, the increase in memory and storage costs has indeed pushed some core models into the 3K-4K range. However, the market's ability to absorb these price hikes ultimately depends on product strength and brand momentum.

Among products with higher price increases (+500-600 RMB), the ONEPLUS ACE 6 and HONOR GT saw their market shares rise. Among those with smaller increases (+100-300 RMB), the HONOR WIN RT showed the most significant growth, while the OPPO K15 PRO, HONOR 500, and ONEPLUS TURBO 6 also experienced slight gains.

From a series-level perspective, the HONOR WIN (+5.6pct), iQOO Z (+3.5pct), and HONOR Number series (+2.6pct) saw the most notable share increases, while the ONEPLUS ACE and OPPO K series remained stable or grew slightly.

Overall, the growth in the 3K-4K segment is not purely driven by price hikes. Instead, it is the result of Android brands concentrating their core configurations and flagship products in this price band in response to rising storage costs. If cost pressures persist, this structural shift is likely to continue influencing the competitive landscape across price tiers. The 3K-4K segment warrants continued attention from manufacturers and has the potential to become one of the core battlegrounds for Android brand competition in the medium to long term.