Xiaomi's Mission Impossible: Becomes 5th Largest Phone Manufacturer | TechTree.com

Xiaomi's Mission Impossible: Becomes 5th Largest Phone Manufacturer

Seems that buyers aren't being put off by the 'Apple copycat' media branding given to Xiaomi

 

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has widely been criticized for imitating Apple, but the waves of negative publicity don't seem to have put off any buyers. The young company has risen to become the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer, becoming the star performer in the three months that ended June 30.

Xiaomi's share of the global smartphone market grew to 5.1 percent in Q2, up from 1.8 percent in the same period last year. Figures released by research firm Strategy Analytics suggests that the company shipped 15.1 million smartphones in the quarter.

“Xiaomi’s Android smartphone models are wildly popular in the Chinese market and it shifts millions of them every quarter through its extensive online and operator channels,” said Woody Oh, of Strategy Analytics. That statistic is even more impressive when considering that the company is just four years old.

Apart from the Chinese market, Xiaomi is now finding incredible success in India, where its recently launched Mi 3 smartphone has been flying off the shelves at incredible speeds. India is the fastest growing smartphone market, and the company is spending big bucks to familiarize itself with Indian buyers.

Billionaire CEO Lei Jun is known for emulating the late Steve Jobs' style of making presentations, dress code and even used the famous “one more thing” slide at the launch of the Mi 4. Even the design of the Mi 4 has been seen as bearing a strong resemblance to Apple's iPhone.

[Also read: Xiaomi Gets 1 lakh Registrations For Mi 3 Launch Day Sale] 

This has sent off media sirens who've dubbed the company as an 'Apple copycat', but Xiaomi has shrugged off the claims. This sort of negative publicity may not go down well with customers in developed markets, but it could in fact play in the favor of Xiaomi in markets where an iPhone is out of the reach of most people.

The smartphone race is being seen increasingly controlled by the Chinese, with companies Huawei and Lenovo holding two spots in the list of top-five manufacturers. While Samsung still leads by a massive margin, the company is facing a crisis in the form of plunging sales.

[Also read: Xiaomi Announces Its Next Flagship Smartphone, The Mi 4] 

Apple too hasn't been able to increase its share of the smartphone market despite selling more iPhones than ever in the last quarter. At the current pace, the Chinese smartphone manufacturers could easily catch Apple in the next few years, albeit by serving an entirely different segment of the market.


TAGS: Xiaomi, Apple, smartphones, Xiaomi Mi 4, Global Smartphone Market

 
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