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.

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 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.