DigiTimes claims that the reduction came as worldwide smartphone demand has become weaker than expected recently, which has resulted in rising inventories at channels.

Smartphone vendors' orders to the supply chain makers for the first quarter of 2018 are also likely to be lower than expected, affecting the performance of most upstream supply chain players during the period.

 Xiaomi had stable sales for its smartphones and is one of a few smartphone vendors which has avoided unfavourable market trends thanks to its reliable offline and online operations. It became the largest smartphone vendor in India in the third quarter of 2017 compared to its status of being the number two a quarter earlier, trailing behind only Samsung Electronics.

Huawei is the third-largest smartphone vendor worldwide and has been promoting its products in North America via cooperation with local telecom carriers. As for India, Huawei is currently facing fierce competition from Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

For 2018, Huawei is expected to step up its campaigns to expand its presence in India.

Oppo has seen its sales in retail channels, and brick-and-mortar stores in China grow weak recently, and therefore the company has shifted its focus to online sales and has partnered with e-commerce service providers such as Amazon and Flipkart to push sales. However, the company's sales in India have continued to enjoy brisk sales, outpacing the performance of the local smartphone vendor Micromax.