Canalys: Xiaomi overtakes Apple as number two in the global smartphone market

Xiaomi took second place in the global smartphone market for the first time in the second quarter of 2021. That reports analyst firm Canalys. The company has overtaken Apple. Samsung remains number one.

According to Canalys, the total number of smartphone deliveries increased by 12 percent in the second quarter of 2021. Samsung is the current market leader; that company accounted for 19 percent of all smartphone shipments. Xiaomi would be in second place with a market share of 17 percent; Apple’s is 14 percent, Canalys reports. OPPO and Vivo round out the top five, each with a 10 percent market share.

In Canalys’ last April report, Apple was still in second place, with a market share of 15 percent. Meanwhile, Xiaomi has caught up with the American tech company. Xiaomi has grown the fastest since the second quarter of last year, according to Canalys figures; Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments are up 83 percent from a year ago, while Apple’s shipments grew 1 percent.

According to the analyst firm, Xiaomi’s growth is due to an increase in the company’s overseas business. For example, Xiaomi’s deliveries in Latin America increased by 300 percent, writes Ben Stanton, research manager at Canalys. In Africa, Xiaomi delivered 150 percent more smartphones and in Western Europe that growth rate is 50.

Canalys writes that Xiaomi is adapting its business model from a challenger to an established player in the smartphone market, with a greater focus on high-end devices. The analyst firm writes that Xiaomi is currently mainly focusing on the ‘mass market’; the average selling price of Xiaomi smartphones is 40 and 75 percent lower, respectively, than devices from Samsung and Apple, according to Canalys.

Source: Canalys