According to the latest numbers from IDC, Xiaomi—the rising star of the smartphone industry—has managed to pass up Samsung in China. In 2013, Xiaomi trailed Samsung’s almost 19% market share by a solid 13 percentage points (at just 5.3%), and was only the 5th largest maker of smartphones in China. Things changed in 2014. Last year, Xiaomi finished off with 12.5% of the market, almost a half-point more than Samsung at 12.1%, taking the top spot and passing not just Samsung, but Lenovo, Huawei, and Coolpad as well.
Interestingly, though, the latest numbers also show that Apple’s launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus contributed to a decent size dent in both Samsung and Xiaomi’s market footprint in Q4 of last year.
Apple’s market share grew from 5% to 12.3% in one quarter, while Xiaomi fell by 1.1% and Samsung fell by 3.1% over that same time period. Year over year, Samsung was down to 7.9% share compared to 18.8% in Q3 of 2013—coming out to a -49.9% growth over just 12 months.
The smartphone market in China, though, regardless of who holds the reigns, is growing. 107.5 million smartphones were shipped to China in 2014 Q4, which is a 2% growth compared to the quarter before. 420.7 million smartphones total were shipped in China in 2014, and there was a year-over-year growth of 19% for Q4.
Recently, Xiaomi held an event in San Francisco, and while it didn’t come with the launch of any of the company’s flagship products on American soil, the point of it was to introduce the brand to North America. The company is planning to bring its Mi.com marketplace website to the US before the end of the year, but for now the only thing you’ll be able to buy are accessories—like fitness trackers, power packs, and headphones.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Anyone at 9to5 want to do an article about Tim Cook continuing to sell his products in countrys who have massive human rights violations? Or are we just sticking with praising his stances when profits aren’t involved?
So your suggestion for an alternative is… cutting off countries like China from the sphere of our economic activities, and letting them rot on their own? I’m not sure if that positively contributes to the fight for human rights.
So you support hypocrisy when it makes for feel good stories of conviction yet when it comes down to business we will turn a blind eye to the conditions the Chinese face daily.
@chrisl84: are you living in china? do you know what life is here? or you just read stuff online … I do live in china and the life here is not better or worse than US for most part. And Hypocrisy is if a nation tells everyone how evil they spy on others but secretly have the NSA spy on the whole world including own citizens which is the biggest human rights violation of all time.
You think the CIA didn’t commit human rights violations ?
There are studies that if you give a country modern technology it helps way more to transform positive than dropping bombs on a country.
Like Apple is the only company on the planet selling their products in countries with human rights violations. And Apple isn’t the only company that makes products in countries with human rights violations. Using that argument as a way to bash Apple is old and worthless. Maybe 9to5 could do an article on ALL the companies that sell to countries with human rights violations. But no, like all other sites and I guess you, it has to have Apple in the headline to get the clicks.
You must have missed the BIG STORY 9to5 just posted praising Tim Cook as a human rights champion….but the fact is he isnt. He is a self interest champion. You can slobber hypocrisy I will call attention to it.
herb is that you?
that idiot died watching Apple’s results last quarter.
Mr. Troll, maybe if you weren’t so insecure about the non-Apple products you use, you wouldn’t feel the need to rant like a lunatic about Apple products and the people who enjoy using them.
(͡° ͜ʖ°)
Mr. Troll, maybe if you weren’t so insecure about the non-Apple products you use, you wouldn’t feel the need to rant like a lunatic about Apple products and the people who enjoy using them.
(͡° ͜ʖ°)
A person with different opinion to yours doesn’t make them a troll. It’s a perfectly valid point but because you lack the intelligence to reply to him correctly you call him a troll.
You’re a grown man Harvey – you want to try acting like one.
Human right? You should wake up, man. Each country has her own policies. You can’t impose US policies on it. Get real. I know thousands of people lining up in front of Foxconn for a job everyday regardless working condition. Don’t ever bring politics into this. It’s the mess.
So Apple should stop selling product in China, half of Africa, half of Middle East, most of Southeast Asia, all islamic states, Russia and also USA/Australia (from spying on internet). So we can called him human right champion??
Come on guys. Even if Apple and other company don’t sell their products in those countries, Chinese company can still copy those and sell back in your countries in dirt cheap price and will sell well !!! In long company in your country will dead and wait for Chinese companies for acquisition.
What Apple and other powerful companies (as well as NGOs) do right now were to force those factories to treat their worker better. They can do this because their company are big enough, If their companies are small, no factories will listen to them.
Well, that’s just my opinion from Southeast Asia.
Well, 9to5 should have an option to edit comment for few minutes after post. I just found many misspelling right after I click reply = =
well said … they never lived on thoose countrys and seem to know everything.
So what this guy suggests is that additional to the reduced freedom of speech the common people should be punished as well with reduced freedom of choice. Yeah that sounds like a good deal LOL
I shouldn’t feed the troll but I’d like to post this one comment to point out the utter stupidity.
That would mean Apple would not be able to sell their products practically anywhere. The U.S. has f’in tortured people. No country is spotless. Not trying to turn this into a figure-pointing hyperbole but….ya. Impossible standard to live up to troll.
Also, why make a suffering population suffer further. If they’re suffering at the blind eye of their government, withholding Apple products from their lives just seems additionally cruel ;-) (poor taste?!)