According to a new report from Canalys, Xiaomi had 17 percent of the global market share, placing the Chinese company above Apple Inc. and just slightly below Samsung, as the second-largest smartphone vendor based on worldwide shipments in the second quarter of 2021.
The second quarter of 2021 saw a rise in global smartphone shipments, as vaccines became widely available and the global economy made a rebound. Samsung came in first place with a 19 percent share of the total number of smartphones shipped. For the first time, Xiaomi took second place with a 17 percent share of smartphones shipped, pushing Apple to third place with 14%, while Oppo and Vivo tailed behind. Oppo and Vivo both had 10 percent of the total number of smartphone shipments. The two underdog smartphone companies, however, maintained strong momentum. Standing at number four and five spots respectively, Oppo experienced a 28 percent annual growth rate while Vivo had a 27 percent annual growth rate.
In the words of Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton, “Xiaomi is growing its overseas business rapidly”. The company saw an outstanding 83% annual growth rate- its shipments increased more than 300% in Latin America, 150% in Africa, and 50% in Western Europe. A large part of the success is thanks to Xiaomi’s launch of Note 10 and Mi series smartphones. According to Stanton, Xiaomi “is now transforming its business model from challenger to incumbent, with initiatives such as channel partner consolidation and more careful management of older stock in the open market”.
The prices of Xiaomi phones are quite affordable – when compared with the prices of Samsung and Apple phones its average selling price is around 40% and 75% cheaper respectively.
Huawei, a strong contender in the smartphone market, has been essentially shut out of the worldwide market of high-end premium phones due to US-imposed sanctions and trading bans. Xiaomi appears to be the biggest beneficiary of this as it seems to have taken over Huawei’s place in the market – Huawei once overtook Apple in 2019.
Lagging by just 2 percent, Xiaomi seems to have the potentials to take on Samsung and become the top brand in the world in terms of shipments.