SAMSUNG USED TO be the top smartphone vendor in the lucrative Chinese market, but it has been overtaken by local rival Xiaomi.
According to a report from research group Canalys, Xiaomi saw its second quarter sales in China increase by 240% from a year earlier, taking a 14% share in the world’s largest smartphone market.
This was put down in part to increasing sales of its low-cost RedMi range, while Samsung’s fall to second was put down to the “rapidly shifting demand towards 4G handsets” thanks to a 4G push by China Mobile, the nation’s largest carrier. This was the first time Samsung fell to second place in China since the end of 2011.
On the other hand, Apple registered a strong year-on-year growth of 58%, down to its position as “one of few high-end device options available to consumers looking to use 4G services” said the report.
China still remains the world’s largest smartphone market in the latest quarter, accounting for 37 % of global shipments, or 108.5 million. Globally, Canalys said that 292.4 million smartphones were shipped during this quarter, up 23% from the previous year and 5% from the first quarter.
Samsung still remains the top smartphone maker globally with a 26% share of the market, but Canalys noted it was the lowest share it’s had in two and a half years. Xiaomi’s position in China means it’s now one of the top five manufacturers in the world, making up 5% of the market.
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