An industrial report reveals that Chinese smartphone makers have made progress within the mid- to high-end sector in the country, gaining ground from long-time pioneers like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

Nielsen Holdings Plc reported that the demand for mobile units worth 2,000 yuan ($300) has increased among Chinese buyers, with sales jumping to 8.8 percent last year.

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Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. has the most notable share increase in terms of price range, reporting that its high-end models in the local market jumped from 0.34 percent in January 2015 to 2.13 percent in December.

Nielsen China vice president James Gong suggests that Chinese buyers are now more selective when getting new units, pushing manufacturers to release more premium products.

Other local vendors including Xiaomi Corp., vivo Communication Technology Co Ltd and OPPO Electronics Corp. are also on the list of the companies growing their market share. However, Nielsen's current report only covers mobile devices that run on Android.

Meanwhile, results from US' International Data Corporation reveals that in total, China's smartphone market dawdled in the past year, reporting 434 million units shipped compared with 423.3 million in the previous year.

IDC China head Kitty Fok claims that as a result, domestic smartphone makers including Huawei and Xiaomi are pushed to increase profit margins by aiming for higher-end sales.

Experts anticipate that competition among China's smartphone makers will soon heat up as they all aim for the premium market.

TagsXiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Android, Smartphone, china, high-end phones