As Canalys Research reported, Xiaomi ranked second in the smartphone market for the first time in the history of the second quarter. It had a market share of 17%. Thus, Apple is behind Xiaomi.
In this regard, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun issued a letter to all employees, saying that Xiaomi became the world’s second for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and a major milestone in the history of Xiaomi’s development.
Lei Jun also said that second place in the world means greater challenges and greater responsibilities. And there will be a fierce and anxious tug-of-war in the future.
Overall, Canalys said that in the Q2 2021, global smartphone shipments increased 12%. They think the economy began breathing as vaccines rolled out around the world, and the new normal for economies and citizens started to take shape.
Of course, Samsung still remains the world’s largest smartphone maker with a 19% share. After Xiaomi, in the third position, we can find Apple, which has a 14% market share. Also, VIVO and OPPO maintained strong growth momentum to complete the top five.
“Xiaomi is growing its overseas business rapidly,” said Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton. “For example, its shipments increased more than 300% in Latin America, 150% Africa and 50% in Western Europe. And as it grows, it evolves. 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. So a major priority for Xiaomi this year is to grow sales of its high-end devices, such as the Mi 11 Ultra. But it will be a tough battle, with Oppo and Vivo sharing the same objective, and both willing to spend big on above-the-line marketing to build their brands in a way that Xiaomi is not. All vendors are fighting hard to secure component supply amid global shortages, but Xiaomi already has its sights set on the next prize: displacing Samsung to become the world’s largest vendor.”