Xiaomi takes the smartphone sales crown, and Samsung seems unhappy about it

Sizzling off its climb to the No. 2 spot for Q2 2021, Xiaomi is the world’s largest smartphone vendor for the primary time. That is in response to July’s numbers from Counterpoint Research, which has Xiaomi in first with 17.1 p.c of the worldwide market, Samsung in second with 15.7 p.c, and Apple in third with 14.3 p.c.

Counterpoint says Xiaomi’s market share grew 26 p.c month over month. Counterpoint Analysis Director Tarun Pathak explains why, saying, “Ever because the decline of Huawei commenced, Xiaomi has been making constant and aggressive efforts to fill the hole created by this decline. The OEM has been increasing in Huawei’s and HONOR’s legacy markets like China, Europe, Center East, and Africa. In June, Xiaomi was additional helped by China, Europe, and India’s restoration and Samsung’s decline attributable to provide constraints.”

Huawei has been plummeting available in the market share charts as the results of the multi-year US export ban caught up with the corporate. Huawei retains making paper announcements, however with the principle model missing chips and software program, plus the sale of sub-brand Honor, there’s not a lot left of Huawei within the present smartphone market.

Xiaomi covers each attainable market section, with 58 smartphone models at present listed on its international web site. Its merchandise embrace telephones as low-cost as $100, state-of-the-art foldables just like the Mi Mix Fold, and flagship telephones like the Mi 11 Ultra, which has a second rear display screen within the digital camera bump and a large 50 MP, 1/1.12-inch sensor. Xiaomi is aggressive in its dwelling market of China—the world’s largest smartphone market—and is a serious participant in India, the second-largest market on the earth. The corporate would not do smartphone enterprise within the US.

As for Samsung, which Xiaomi blew by to change into No. 1, Counterpoint says the corporate is going through non permanent issues because of the resurgence of COVID-19 in Vietnam. Samsung has main telephone manufacturing services in Vietnam, along with China and the corporate’s dwelling nation of South Korea. Counterpoint Senior Analyst Varun Mishra mentioned, “Samsung’s manufacturing was disrupted in June, which resulted within the model’s gadgets going through shortages throughout channels. Xiaomi, with its sturdy mid-range portfolio and broad market protection, was the most important beneficiary from the short-term hole left by Samsung’s A sequence.”

“As soon as Samsung recovers, the ranks are more likely to shuffle once more,” the positioning provides.

Regardless of Counterpoint’s claims that Samsung’s issues are non permanent, Samsung would not appear pleased with its second-place spot available in the market. In response to a report from South Korean web site The Elec, Samsung Electronics is “extending its administration overview” of the cellular enterprise, a transfer The Elec says Samsung does “when the highest management considers there’s a drawback with a selected enterprise unit.”

The report says that “Samsung is extremely more likely to miss its gross sales goal for Galaxy S21,” which thus far has bought 13.5 million items in the course of the first half of the 12 months. Over the identical interval, the earlier mannequin, the S20, bought within the mid-20-millions, whereas older Galaxy S fashions bought round 30 million. You can argue that prospects are holding smartphones for longer, however Xiaomi would not appear to be going through these issues.

Samsung is in a holding sample because the chief of the corporate, Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee), is still in jail on bribery costs. This month, Lee has a parole listening to that might result in his launch, and a few folks in South Korea are even lobbying for Lee to be pardoned, given how huge of a task Samsung performs in South Korea’s economic system (the corporate represents about 15 p.c of South Korea’s GDP). The Elec speculates that with Samsung’s chief seemingly getting out of jail quickly, a overview of key firm divisions may already be underway in order that Lee can shortly make choices upon his launch.