China's domestic smartphone shipments reached 32.06 million units, down 4.3 percent year-on-year, accounting for 94.2 percent of the total number of shipments, said a new report by China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

In general, China's smartphone makers shipped 34.04 million units in the first month of 2019, down 12.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 95.0 percent of smartphone shipments of the same period last year, said the report.

Despite the shipment drop, the market share of China's domestic brands has witnessed a steadily growing trend since last October, which stood at 84.4 percent. Figures from November and December's read 86.4 and 90.2 percent respectively, according to the report.

The report showed that smartphone shipments stood at 32.15 million units in January, down 11.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 94.4 percent of the same period of smartphone shipments. Android phones accounted for 93.2 percent of smartphones.

Besides securing the domestic market, China's smartphones also gained a foothold on the European market. Canalys reported that China's smartphones took a third of the European market with top smartphone maker Huawei seizing over 23 percent of the total.

The increased appetite for Chinese brands is not only limited to lower prices but also their high quality and performance. 

An industry analyst told the Verge that the major factor of Huawei's success is its aggressive technological innovation that brings it to the same level as smartphone giants Samsung and Apple in the global market. 

According to a report published by the Financial Times a week ago, the number of customers who have expressed their intention to buy a Huawei phone next has seen a 33 percent rise.

However, the US-based research company IDC warned that with China's smartphone market growing saturated, competition for customers will become an even more important challenge for vendors in 2019.

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