Xiaomi Surges In Smartphone Market Share As Samsung Loses Ground
The number crunchers at International Data Corporation (IDC) counted more than 300 million smartphone shipments around the world for the second consecutive quarter. To be more precise, 327.6 million units shipped during third quarter of 2014, representing a 25.2 percent growth rate compared to the same period a year ago. No big surprise there, though it wasn't all business as usual -- for the first time ever, Xiaomi jumped into the top 5 list of smartphone vendors.
Xiaomi shipped 17.3 million smartphones during the third quarter, propelling the Chinese vendor into third place with a 5.3 percent market share, just ahead of Lenovo, which shipped 16.9 million handsets to claim a 5.2 percent share. IDC gave LG the tie with Lenovo for fourth place with 16.8 million units shipped and a 5.1 percent chunk of the market.
"Key to [Xiaomi's] success was the launch of its Mi4 smartphone in August, which was positioned as a high-end alternative to the status quo. What remains to be seen is how quickly the company can move beyond its home territories to drive volumes higher," IDC said.
These are all somewhat distant competitors to the top two dogs in mobile. One of those is Apple, which shipped 39.3 million iPhones during the quarter to claim a 12 percent share of the market, and sitting on top is Samsung, which splashed the mobile scene with 78.1 million handsets en route to claiming a 23.8 percent share.
Xiaomi shipped 17.3 million smartphones during the third quarter, propelling the Chinese vendor into third place with a 5.3 percent market share, just ahead of Lenovo, which shipped 16.9 million handsets to claim a 5.2 percent share. IDC gave LG the tie with Lenovo for fourth place with 16.8 million units shipped and a 5.1 percent chunk of the market.
"Key to [Xiaomi's] success was the launch of its Mi4 smartphone in August, which was positioned as a high-end alternative to the status quo. What remains to be seen is how quickly the company can move beyond its home territories to drive volumes higher," IDC said.
These are all somewhat distant competitors to the top two dogs in mobile. One of those is Apple, which shipped 39.3 million iPhones during the quarter to claim a 12 percent share of the market, and sitting on top is Samsung, which splashed the mobile scene with 78.1 million handsets en route to claiming a 23.8 percent share.
