Demand for high-end smartphones in China has been higher than expected and could be even higher than that for entry-level and mid-range models, pushing local branded and white-box handset makers to accelerate their development of quad-core models, according to industry sources.

Upgrades to the hardware specifications of smartphones in China have been continuous, since telecom service companies have continued to expand bandwidth capacity on their networks, while accelerating data transmission speeds, the sources noted.

Chipset solution vendors, including Qualcomm, Broadcom, MediaTek, Spreadtrum Communications and HiSilicon Technologies all plan to introduce new models of quad-core chips at the end of 2012 or in early 2013 to cope with increasing demand, the sources revealed.