Xiaomi Gets Lion's Share Of The Market In China

In spite of Apple’s brand desirability and the growing clamor for its premium products, Xiaomi unseated Apple as the top go-to brand for smartphones in Mainland China. Garnering 15.8% in market share, as opposed to Huawei’s 15.4% and Apple’s 12.2%, the company is expanding aggressively and has come out on top.

Those figures came from Counterpoint Research. Figures from Canalys show similar implications, with Xiaomi at 15.9%, and Huawei at 15.7%. No figures were released for Apple, though Canalys reports that Apple fell to third place in the Chinese market, with Samsung and Vivo at fourth and fifth, respectively.

Whether it’s loyalty for a local brand, affordability, or innovative form factor that characterizes its product lines that secured Xiaomi the top spot in the Chinese market is unclear. What is clear, however, is that the $45 Billion company continues to expand its reach. Xiaomi sold its first smartphone in Brazil on July 7, 2015, and has been hailed as the world’s third largest smartphone maker. Such feats are rather impressive, as Xiaomi came relatively late into the smartphone game.

Founded on April 10, 2010, the Chinese technology company secured a spot into public consciousness by rolling out Androids with their own personal touch: The MIUI is an innovative spin on the Android, giving it a sleek, elegant, unique finish that’s closer to the iPhone than to the Android in feel.

With this unique selling proposition, the company was able to secure a niche of its own, and in fact, the lion’s share of the smartphone pie in China.

Aside from smartphones, Xiaomi has also been keen to develop next-generation tech in the form of health-related innovations such as air purifiers and water purifiers, which are needed in handling the growing pollution issues in China. They also partnered with Li Ning in creating smart shoes, which allow users to track their exercise stats with built-in sensors.

Everything’s coming up roses for Xiaomi, as it covers more ground in the smartphone and technology arena.