Chinese “Xiaomi” overtakes “Apple” and takes second place in the world

Xiaomi became the world’s second-largest smartphone maker in the last quarter, after an 83% jump in shipments, according to early estimates from Canalys.

This is the first time that Chinese company Xiaomi, the maker of everything from rice cookers to gaming monitors, has entered the first and second exclusive territory, historically dominated by South Korean Samsung with a 17% share. and US-based Apple with a 14% share, according to company data.

Xiaomi shares rose 4.1% on Friday, the best performance of the benchmark Hang Seng in Hong Kong.

China’s Huawei also held the rankings for a while, until US sanctions removed it and cut the supply of essential chips last year. Its withdrawal from the highly competitive smartphone market has prompted other Chinese manufacturers to spend aggressively on new devices and upgrades.

Xiaomi has been particularly active, launching two flagship devices in the first four months of the year. The Mi 11 Ultra has one of the largest camera sensors of any smartphone to date, underscoring the company’s ambition to move up to the premium price range.

“Compared to Samsung and Apple, the average selling price of Xiaomi devices is approximately 40% and 75% lower, respectively. So, this year, Xiaomi’s main priority is to increase sales of its high-end products. devices, such as the Mi 11. But it will be an uphill battle, as Oppo and Vivo share the same goal, and both are willing to spend a lot of money on online marketing to build their brand in a way that Xiaomi does not. do not.

Expansion abroad has been the main driver of Xiaomi’s growth, with the company increasing its shipments by more than 300% to Latin America, 150% to Africa and 50% to Western Europe, according to Canalys.

Device maker Mi spent the first half of the year battling for the title of China’s biggest smartphone maker alongside rivals Oppo and Vivo, each with roughly equal market share.

The second quarter has traditionally been the quietest time for Apple and Samsung, as both prepare to launch a new phone in the coming months. The iPhone maker has asked vendors to manufacture up to 90 million next-gen iPhones this year, a big increase from device shipments from 2020, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.