Over 98% of New Chinese Smartphones Support Beidou Positioning, MIIT Says

More than 98% of the 133 million smartphones shipped in China during the first half of 2026 support the domestic Beidou Navigation Satellite System, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Over 14 million shared two-wheelers—accounting for more than 90% of the domestic market—now use standalone Beidou positioning modules. Officials highlighted broad deployment across consumer electronics, key industrial sectors, and city-level pilot projects, signaling significant progress in domestic satellite technology integration.

The overwhelming adoption of Beidou across mass-market smartphones and micro-mobility transport indicates that China's indigenous satellite network has transitioned from critical state infrastructure to ubiquitous commercial deployment. This deep integration reinforces domestic supply chains for spatial-temporal data, connected vehicles, and consumer hardware, reducing long-term reliance on foreign global navigation satellite systems.

More than 98% of the 133 million smartphones shipped in China during the first half of 2026 support the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) at a press roundtable in Beijing. The domestic satellite system has also made rapid inroads into consumer transit. MIIT reported that over 14 million shared two-wheelers are now equipped with standalone Beidou positioning units, representing more than 90% of the total shared two-wheeler fleet in the country. Speaking at the briefing, Shi Huikang, deputy director of MIIT's Electronic Information Division, noted that China has expanded large-scale Beidou applications across mass consumer electronics, industrial manufacturing, and cross-sector innovations through pilot projects, technical standard updates, and supply chain development. According to ministry figures, cumulative shipments of domestic Beidou-compatible chips and modules approached 2.6 billion units by the end of 2025, while the total inventory of terminal devices featuring Beidou capabilities exceeded 2.2 billion units or sets. State support has prioritized the research and commercialization of high-precision, anti-jamming, and low-power Beidou hardware to lower manufacturing costs and improve device performance. Deployment is also accelerating across municipal testbeds. Across 39 Beidou pilot cities, more than 12 million standalone Beidou terminal units have been deployed. That total includes over 7.2 million units in consumer sectors, over 4.6 million in industrial manufacturing, and more than 1 million in integrated innovation applications. Several pilot municipalities have reached 100% Beidou adoption in specific public fleets, including shared bikes, cruising taxis, official government vehicles, hazardous-material transit, agricultural machinery, and police equipment. Nationwide, the inventory of Beidou terminal equipment in key industrial sectors has approached 40 million units, achieving a comprehensive penetration rate of roughly 90%. In consumer products beyond smartphones, over 160 million wearable devices and more than 100 million passenger cars are currently equipped with Beidou positioning hardware. Looking ahead, the MIIT indicated that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, authorities will expand support for core technology research and industrialization while advancing the broader spatio-temporal information sector, combining satellite navigation with remote sensing, geographic information systems, and satellite internet networks.