5G devices make up quarter of smartphone market in Jan

More than 5.46 million units of 5G smartphones were shipped in China in January, accounting for about 25 percent of all smartphones shipped in the country, a new report shows.

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said 5G handset shipments continued to grow last month, up from December's 5.41 million sets to reach 5.46 million in January.

The growth came amid an overall drop in smartphone shipments in January. Last month, it shipped a total of 20.81 million units of smartphones, marking a year-on-year decline of 38.9 percent.

But 5G maintained its momentum. Eight 5G smartphone models were unveiled in January. On Tuesday, Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo also unveiled its new 5G smartphone, as the company picks up the pace to gain a bigger presence in the expanding 5G smartphone market.

The company's iQOO, a brand designed to target young users, rolled out its flagship handset series iQOO 3, which supports both standalone and non-standalone 5G networks and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor.

Priced from 3,598 yuan (about $512.73), the new smartphone features several enhancements offering e-sports players faster and smoother experiences.