After Korean market research company HIS iSuppli yesterday revealed that its stats show that Chinese Xiaomi has become the third largest smartphone manufacturer on the planet (and IDC numbers corroborate those findings), we now have a curious turn-around – just 24 hours later. As a few of you might have already figured out, the official closing of the Lenovo/Motorola deal means that the duo (that has now merged into a single entity) means that Xiaomi has been pushed down to fourth again.
Motorola Mobility's President, Rick Osterloh, realized that, too, and even tweeted the news himself:
Congrats to @Xiaomi for getting to #3 in mkt share. sorry it only lasted for 24 hours until the @Motorola @lenovo deal closed - we're 3 now!
— Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) October 30, 2014
According to the IDC, Xiaomi shipped 17.3 million handsets in Q3, while Lenovo managed 16.9 million by itself. Unfortunately, the exact number of Motorola handsets sold is unknown, but it's obviously enough to tip the numbers in Lenovorola's favor. That said, Xiaomi has seen growth rates explode in the past year, so it's uncertain if the new alliance will hold onto its third spot for long. We'll live and we'll see.
source: @rosterloh via BGR, IDC
