Beijing-based electronics company Xiaomi has toppled Samsung and Apple in China and to become the country's largest smartphone brand, according to IDC's (International Data Corporation) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
For years Samsung has been China's number one smartphone brand, but it was ultimately overcome by Xiaomi in 2014, which gained a 12.5 percent market share versus Samsung's 12.1 percent, IDC's report released Tuesday indicates. This represents a marked improvement over 2013's figures which had the Chinese homegrown brand taking a modest 5.3 percent of the market, while its South Korean rival boasted almost 18.7 percent market share in China.
Xiaomi's 186.5 percent year-on-year growth has taken everyone by surprise, especially Samsung which saw a 22.4 percent drop in the same period. Lenovo, which pledged to beat Samsung last year slid to third place in 2014, according to IDC.
Meanwhile, Apple Inc. kicked off iPhone 6 sales in China in the fourth quarter of 2014, but has also been out played by the Chinese homegrown brand.…
Explaining the success of Xiaomi, IDC's experts point to the company's strategy to sell low-cost Android smartphones with "decent features."
Sputnik
Xiaomi Smartphones Going Global After Beating Out Samsung, Apple in China
Ekaterina Blinova
