Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has surpassed Apple as the second-largest smartphone maker in the world, after Samsung, according to market study firm Canalys.
In the second quarter of 2021, global smartphone shipments expanded by 12% with Samsung shipping the largest quantity at 19%, Xiaomi came in second at 17% and Apple, third at 14% while Vivo and Oppo retained strong growth acceleration to complete the top five at 10% respectively.
In a tweet, Xiaomi said “We’ve moved up one more spot! Just in from @Canalys, we are now the 2nd largest smartphone brand worldwide in terms of shipments. This amazing milestone couldn’t have been achieved without our beloved Mi Fans.”
What are they announcing about Xiaomi?
Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton explained, “Xiaomi is growing its overseas business rapidly,” citing sales boosts in regions including Western Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
“It is still largely skewed toward the mass market, however, and compared with Samsung and Apple, its average selling price is around 40% and 75% cheaper respectively
So a major preference for Xiaomi this year is to increase sales of its high-end devices, such as the Mi 11 Ultra. But it will be a difficult battle, with Oppo and Vivo sharing the same objective, and both ready to spend big on above-the-line marketing to build their brands in a way that Xiaomi is not.
All vendors are striving hard to secure component supply amid global shortages, but Xiaomi already has its sights set on the next prize: superseding Samsung to become the world’s largest vendor,” Stanton said.
What you should understand
In 2020, Huawei, another Chinese company, was at Number 1 as the biggest smartphone maker in the world. This year the company is no more in the top five as it has been closed out of the worldwide market due to US-imposed embargoes and trading prohibitions.
