Xiaomi overtakes Apple to become second largest smartphone maker in Q2 2021

The company’s shipments in the Latin American, African and Western European regions grew 300%, 150% and 50%, respectively, over the last year, said Ben Stanton, research manager at Canalys.

According to the report, Samsung led the market with 19% of the overall smartphone shipments and annual growth of 15%. Xiaomi, on the other hand, grew 83% to take 17% of the market share, followed by Apple at 14%. Oppo and Vivo took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, with 10% market share each. The global shipment numbers for Q2 2021 grew 12% sequentially.

That said, Xiaomi’s position in the second quarter may not come as a surprise to sector experts. The second quarter is usually a slow one for Apple, as the company launched its new iPhones in the third quarter of the year, leading customers to wait for the new ones before making a purchase. Stanton noted that Xiaomi’s priority this year is to grow the sales of its high-end devices, like the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. The company will also face stiff competition from fellow Chinese compatriots like Oppo, Vivo and Realme.

“It 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. 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,” he said.