Xiaomi is skyrocketing and now sells better than the iPhone

Xiaomi smartphones are skyrocketing and now sell better than iPhones

Asian smartphone makers are advancing: Xiaomi is conquering Europe at the expense of Huawei and Apple has been ousted from the top 3 of the biggest mobile phone brands in the world for the first time in years.

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Huawei is gaining market share. In the third quarter of 2020, the company sold 47.1 million mobile phones, 45% more than in the same period last year, market researcher Canalys announced.

“Xiaomi acted aggressively to oust Huawei,” Canalys analyst Mo Jia said. In Europe, for example, Huawei’s shipments fell by a quarter, while those of Xiaomi increased by 88%.

This means that Xiaomi is number three in the world for the first time, ahead of the US group Applewhich only launched its new iPhone in October. Xiaomi’s belated iPhone 12 and record sales in Asia and Europe were enough for the Chinese to beat Apple for the first time in a quarter.

If the trend continues, Xiaomi should soon overtake Huawei, the current number two.

Market researchers from IDC and Counterpoint also see Xiaomi ahead of Apple. Apple will temporarily regain its spot on the podium with the new iPhones in the next quarter, but in the medium term, other Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo and Realme, which are also making their way into Europe, will be early.

Samsung Electronics regained first place. This was aided by increased sales in India, where Chinese brands suffered from political tensions. With over 80 million units, Samsung is the clear market leader worldwide. The rather low growth of 2 percent compared to the previous year was partly bought with discount campaigns.

Huawei it suffers more and more US sanctions and slips to second place worldwide. The Chinese have already lost their market leadership in the second quarter of 2020. Global sales plummeted by 23%. As the Chinese continue to buy Huawei devices, Europeans have recently become cautious.

Together with Xiaomi it is the Chinese provider Oppo on the advance in Europe. Unlike Xiaomi, Oppo mainly positions itself as a premium supplier that wants to develop the market mainly through cooperation with telecommunications companies.

Overall, the smartphone market recovered slightly in Q3 after two very weak quarters. Global sales were only down 1% to 348 million units from the same quarter last year.

Compared to the second quarter, sales increased by 22%, although the iPhone was delayed this year. What many expected happened: Customers compensated for deferred purchases during the block.

(era / sda / Reuters)