Domestic smartphone brands continue to outshine Apple in China (AAPL)

International smartphones are struggling to appeal to Chinese consumers, according to data from IDC. In Q1 2017, four of the top five smartphone vendors by volume of shipments in China were local vendors.

And while device shipments of the two leading smartphone brands, Huawei and OPPO, grew 25.5% and 20%, respectively, Q1 shipments of the iPhone — the only international brand to place in the top five — fell 27% YoY. This could suggest that Apple’s products are struggling to gain traction against local handset makers.

The report doesn’t bode well for Apple, which counts China as its second-largest market outside of the US. China’s massive smartphone population, as well as its burgeoning middle class, presented a market ripe for the picking. However, the latest results mark the fifth consecutive YoY decline in iPhone shipments in China, IDC notes. Nevertheless, the company remains enthusiastic about the opportunity in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said during Apple’s Q1 2017 earnings call last week. Apple is likely hoping that the hype surrounding its 10th anniversary device will spur greater interest in the next iteration of iPhones.

The global smartphone market is expected to slow considerably over the next few years. Despite a record-setting holiday quarter, 2015 was likely the last year of double-digit growth for smartphone shipments.

Mature markets were at the heart of this year’s deceleration. Adoption has reached new highs in key markets in the United States, Europe, and China. The pool of first-time buyers in these countries is shrinking rapidly, and sales are now primarily coming from phone upgrades.

Meanwhile, emerging markets will continue to see robust shipment growth. India and Indonesia, in particular, will help fuel a large share of the shipments growth within the global smartphone market over the next few years.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on smartphones by country that forecasts the market through 2021 to reflect slower, stabilizing growth in the long term.

Here are some key points from the report:

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