Samsung again led smartphone shipments in the second quarter, with its market share rising 15 percent from the year before to 19 percent, but Xiaomi surged forward to take second place for the first time, leaping 83 percent to a share of 17 percent, according to the latest study from Canalys.
The sharp increase at the Chinese manufacturer was boosted by its overseas business, which is rapidly growing. Shipments increased more than 300 percent in Latin America, 150 percent in Africa and 50 percent in Western Europe. The company has also not stayed still, the researcher noted. It is 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.
Products are still largely skewed toward the mass market however; compared with Samsung and Apple, its average selling price is around 40 percent and 75 percent 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,” Canalys said.
In third place, Apple’s market share went 1 percent higher to 14 percent. Oppo and Vivo shared fourth and fifth place with 10 percent, up 28 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
