China's smartphone market is showing signs of cooling down, registering negative quarterly growth for the first time in six years, according to an industry report published Monday.

First quarter shipments of smart phones in China totaled 98.8 million, 4.3 percent less than during the same period last year, according to a report issued by IDC, a U.S. market research company. Quarterly shipments usually grew by more than 20 percent previously.

The "saturation" of the smartphone market is believed to be behind the slowdown, noted IDC's China head in a press statement. Analysts say smartphones have reached a more than 90-percent penetration rate in China.

Apple took the top market share in China from January to March, accounting for 14.7 percent of the market. Shipments of 14.6 million phones for an increase of 62.1 percent were triggered partly by the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the latter half of 2014.

Apple is followed by Chinese phone makers Xiaomi and Huawei, which registered quarterly growth of 42.3 percent and 39.7 percent, respectively. South Korea's Samsung fell from the top spot in the first quarter of 2014 to the fourth spot this year, with quarterly shipments slumping by 53.0 percent.

Despite the contraction of the market, various Chinese companies are still scrambling to foray into it. Qihoo 360, a company specializing in Internet security and web browsing, rolled out its Qiku phone last week in the wake of new phone releases by Chinese Internet and appliance companies.