(Yicai Global) May 12 -- Smartphones supporting fifth-generation wireless connectivity have become more popular than ever in China as the share of such shipments reached a historic high last month.

Shipments of 5G phones rose to 21.4 million units, making up 77.9 percent of the total in April, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a report released yesterday.

In the first four months of this year, 5G phone shipments tallied 91.3 million devices, accounting for 72.7 percent of all.

However, the volumes have been bigger. In March, the number of 5G handset shipments surged to 27.5 million units, a historic high, as the month proved to be particularly busy for the broader market. A total of 36.1 million phone shipments was logged in March.

Phones made abroad were becoming slightly more attractive last month. Shipments of domestically produced phones made up 90.1 percent of the total that month, down from the 91 percent logged a year ago.

The novel technology is rapidly gaining traction. In April 2020, 5G phone shipments made up just 39.3 percent of all shipments.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi