China's smartphone shipments dropped 4 percent year-on-year to 80.10 million in the third quarter, as a components shortage brought uncertainties to the market and replacement cycles of smartphones were extended, according to a report on Monday.

Statistics from Strategy Analytics, a market research company, showed Vivo took the lead among all phone makers, with shipments hitting 18 million in Q3, up 21 percent from a year earlier.

Oppo shipped around 17 million smartphones, a yearly increase of 15 percent. The company slowed its release cycle from July to September to focus on the integration with OnePlus, especially on the ColorOS operating system.

The shipments of Honor soared 109 percent year-on-year to 14 million in Q3, with strong rebounds backed by the recovery in chip components supply and continuously upgraded product portfolios.

However, Xiaomi saw its shipments fall 2 percent from the same period last year to about 11 million. Although Apple enjoys high popularity among Chinese consumers, it only shipped 10 million phones in Q3 due to a shortage in components.

The top five phone manufacturers covered 86 percent of the Chinese smartphone market in comparison to 85 percent in 2020, the report said. As market competition further intensifies, the figure is expected to grow in the coming quarters.