Apple jumped back into the top-five smartphone rankings in China, taking second in Q3 despite flat shipments in the quarter and losing market share, data from IDC showed.

Its share fell 0.5 percentage points to 15.6 per cent, behind Vivo, which saw shipments improve 21.5 per cent and its share rise to 18.6 per cent. Apple had dropped from the top-five vendors for three quarters.

Overall shipments in China were up 3.2 per cent year-on-year to 68.8 million units, recording a fourth consecutive quarter of growth following a prolonged downturn.

IDC China senior research analyst Arthur Guo noted despite ongoing economic challenges, “consumers are highly motivated to purchase new smartphones after three years of pent-up demand”. He added a significant wave of device upgrades is “propelling the sustained recovery”.

Huawei’s shipments increased 42 per cent, taking is share to 15.3 per cent and putting it in third place. Like the overall market, its shipments improved for a fourth strait quarter.

Xiaomi was fourth with a 14.8 per cent share after shipments rose 12.8 per cent, while Honor’s shipments fell 22.5 per cent and its share dropped to 14.6 per cent from 19.4 per cent.