Xiaomi wins smartphone sales crown, and Samsung seems unhappy with it

Fresh off its ascent to second place for the second quarter of 2021, Xiaomi is the world’s largest smartphone supplier for the first time. That’s according to July figures from Counterpoint Research, which places Xiaomi first with 17.1% of the global market, Samsung second with 15.7% and Apple third with 14.3%.

Counterpoint reports that Xiaomi’s market share increased 26% month over month. Counterpoint Director of Research Tarun Pathak explains why, saying: “Since the onset of Huawei’s decline, Xiaomi has made constant and aggressive efforts to fill the void created by this decline. The OEM has grown in the historical markets of Huawei and HONOR such as China, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In June, Xiaomi was further helped by the recovery of China, Europe and India and the decline of Samsung due to supply constraints.

Huawei has slumped in the market share charts as the effects of the United States’ multi-year export ban caught up with the company. Huawei continues to make announcements on paper, but with the lack of chips and software from the main brand, as well as the sale of the Honor sub-brand, there isn’t much left of Huawei in today’s smartphone market.

Xiaomi covers all possible market segments, with 58 smartphone models currently listed on its global website. Its products include phones as cheap as $ 100, state-of-the-art foldables like the Mi Mix Fold, and flagship phones like the Mi 11 Ultra, which has a second rear display in the camera bump and a whopping 50 MP, 1 / 1.12 inch sensor. Xiaomi is aggressive in its home market, China, the world’s largest smartphone market, and is a major player in India, the world’s second-largest market. The company does not market smartphones in the United States.

As for Samsung, which Xiaomi has overtaken to become number 1, Counterpoint says the company faces temporary problems due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in Vietnam. Samsung has significant phone manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, in addition to China and South Korea, the company’s home country. Counterpoint Senior Analyst Varun Mishra said, “Samsung’s production was halted in June, resulting in shortages of the brand’s devices across all channels. Xiaomi, with its strong mid-range portfolio and broad market coverage, has been the biggest beneficiary of the short-term gap. left by Samsung’s A series.

“Once Samsung recovers, the ranks will likely be reshuffled again,” the site adds.

Despite Counterpoint’s claims that Samsung’s problems are temporary, Samsung does not appear to be happy with its second place in the market. According to a report by South Korean site The Elec, Samsung Electronics is “expanding its management review” of the mobile business, a decision The Elec says Samsung makes “when senior management considers there is a problem with a particular business unit “.

The report states that “Samsung will most likely miss its sales target for the Galaxy S21”, which has so far sold 13.5 million units in the first half of the year. During the same period, the previous model, the S20, sold in the middle of 20 million, while the older Galaxy S models sold around 30 million. You could argue that customers are keeping smartphones for longer, but Xiaomi doesn’t seem to be facing these issues.

Samsung has been on hold since company chief Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee) remains in jail for corruption. This month, Lee has a parole hearing that could lead to his release, and some people in South Korea are even pushing for Lee to be pardoned, given the importance of Samsung’s role in the southern economy. -Korean (the company accounts for around 15% of South Korea’s GDP). Elec speculates that with the likely release of the Samsung leader from prison, a review of the company’s key divisions may already be underway so Lee can quickly make decisions upon his release.