The top-three based smartphone vendors, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, are expected to ship a combined over 500 million smartphones, or one-third of global smartphones shipments, in 2017, according to sources from Taiwan's handset supply chain.

Based on their respective performance in 2016, Huawei aims to ship 170 million units in 2017, followed by Oppo at 160 million and Vivo at 150 million, the sources estimated.

Strong shipments from the three vendors will result in a drastic change of market share of the major players in the segment, while also affecting the profitability of smartphone vendors and component suppliers, said the sources.

Huawei is expected to ship 126 million smartphones in 2016, or roughly 90% of its shipment target of 140 million units set for the year due to keen competition from Oppo and Vivo, said the sources.

Huawei has revamped its strategy, aiming to recapture the top-ranking title lost to Oppo in the domestic smartphone market in the third quarter of 2016, noted the sources, adding that it is reasonable for Huawei to look for a 30% shipment growth, to reach 170 million units in 2017.

Meanwhile, Oppo and Vivo are expected to focus on ramping up shipments of mid-range to high-end models with high price/performance ratios to meet rising replacement demand in emerging markets, the sources commented.