5G smartphone shipments quadruple as demand gains momentum

China's 5G smartphone shipments quadrupled in October as 5G handsets are expected to drive the whole electronics industry amid expectations of large-scale shipments in the country next year.

China has shipped 2.49 million 5G smartphones in October, having soared over 400 percent compared with the previous month. The total 5G smartphone shipments in the first 10 months hit 3.28 million units, according to a report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The rise in 5G smartphone shipments took place against the slight drop of overall smartphone shipments in October, which saw a 6.7 percent year-on-year slide to 35.96 million. Altogether, the nation has shipped 323 million smartphones by October, a decline of 5.8 percent year-on-year.