Smartphone shipments in China to hit 450 million in 2014

Smartphone shipments in China are reportedly expected to hit 450 million in 2014 with the coming of the highly anticipated 4G network.

According to the IDC report, shipment volume in China is set to reach 360 million this year.

South Korea-based Samsung was the largest smartphone maker in the China market despite strong challenges from local brands and controlled 18.3 percent of the market share in the second quarter.

A senior analyst with IDC China, James Yan said that the market share of Apple has declined dramatically adding that the tech giant's performance is expected to improve with the launch of iPhone 5S and the low-cost iPhone 5C

Analysts have observed that the local brands in China are more competitive at the lower end of the market, where customers are price sensitive.

The firm said that the substantial shipments of low-end 3G smartphones priced below 130 dollars was the major reason powering the double-digit growth in the second quarter, Xinhua reports.

IDC said that the issuance of 4G licenses in China is expected to add 120 million to smartphone shipments next year and will benefit the chip and screen makers apart from app developers and channel distributors.