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Xiaomi continues to sell more than Apple in China, Samsung and Lenovo still at the helm

posted by Chris P. / May 08, 2014, 7:48 AM

Xiaomi continues to sell more than Apple in China, Samsung and Lenovo still at the helm

According to data by Counterpoint's Technology Market Research, published by the Korea Herald, Chinese Xiaomi continues its lead over Apple in terms of market share in the Middle Kingdom. Back in August, Canalys first reported that Xiaomi is gaining ground in China, and even surpassed the Cupertino-based company.

Xiaomi, which is seeing stratospheric growth in its home country, held 11% of the market in China in the first quarter of 2014. Known for producing quality smartphones and then selling them with small mark-ups, the local vendor continues to hold the number three, with Apple an inch behind, at 10%. That's not surprising, seeing as the majority of Chinese smartphone buyers mostly shop at the low-cost aisle, and the iPhone only recently started selling on China Telecom -- the country's biggest carrier.

The study also calls out the two market leaders in China -- Samsung and Lenovo -- which grabbed an 18% and 12% share in Q1. Coolpad, at 10%, is tied with Apple, and both are closely-followed by Huawei, which holds 8% of the pie. ZTE and Oppo had it the worst -- the two companies captured 6% and 3% respectively.

As the world's biggest smartphone market, China is obviously getting higher and higher on manufacturers' agenda, and there are definitely those that consider it crucial for a company's future odds of survival. That said, the commoditization of smartphones has brought down (and continues to squeeze) profit margins to a point where only a few brands are actually making a real buck. That's a godsend for consumers, but it might cost us the current diversity in products somewhere down the line.

source: Counterpoint Research via Korea Herald

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16 Comments

1. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

Go Xiaomi!

posted on May 08, 2014, 7:56 AM 1

2. fireblade

Posts: 717; Member since: Dec 27, 2013

And Apple's current position in China was helped by people who want to show off their status that they can buy the expensive iphone. The 16 GB version costs $872 there.

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:03 AM 1

8. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

What a Ripoff A subpar app launcher phone with a Apple logo stamped on costs that much Wth A mid end device and 2 years old spec phone

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:25 AM 0

10. SleepingOz unregistered

Exactly! I've been in Beijing since last Sep and what I can say so far is that most of the chinese people are mindless sheeep.

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:31 AM 0

16. joey_sfb

Posts: 6794; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

What a racist remark! Please read the article again. Apple phones are not so hot in China. I being to Beijing, most people use their home grown brands Android phones with super big screen.

posted on May 08, 2014, 6:54 PM 0

3. sipha

Posts: 440; Member since: May 12, 2012

18%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 10%, 8% now thats the sh*t i like right there!! = a good competitive market

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:10 AM 2

4. Gamas_K

Posts: 88; Member since: Nov 02, 2013

People in china buy iphone because they want to show off, like in indonesia.. 16 gb iPhone 5s here cost around US$950 here and people buy it only because it has apple logo at the back

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:11 AM 2

5. ihavenoname

Posts: 1693; Member since: Aug 18, 2013

No suprise really. Apple has lead on high-end market, but especially on markets like China low- and mid-range phones are the hot stuff. If Apple just would cut the 5C price, IMO to $400.

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:16 AM 0

7. aksa123

Posts: 366; Member since: Jan 30, 2014

iPhone gets backed up by ChinaMobile, so it's cheap but with contract.

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:21 AM 0

6. StraightEdgeNexus

Posts: 3689; Member since: Feb 14, 2014

Wut? Apple was at 3rd position in china. So those seemingly "budget conscious" people indeed sold babies to buy iphones....

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:17 AM 1

9. Arte-8800

And kidneys

11. whburling

Posts: 14; Member since: Apr 08, 2014

yes.....competition does lead to reduced whole phone innovation as innovation is not linear (can not be willed along a rationale course) and hence more manufacturers does enhance the probability of new concepts being implemented. On the other hand, fewer manufactures does not necessarily mean phone technology development does not grow; phones are reliant on component level innovation and that will continue and hence phone functionality will continue to improve at or near the current level even with fewer phone (not component) manufacturers. As I have repreatedly stated on this website, phones, as we know them, will no longer exist as soon as technology develops that elminates the need for physical touch and for physical displays that are hand held. Retina or eyeglass displays and sensors that detect body movement from large to small finger level tremors will result in ultra small general purpose computers displacing phones. Aesthetics, as a market driver, will give way to functionality as a market driver. Apple's market hold is due partly to aesthetics and partly to simplicity (by removing choice which reduces the complexity associated with learning and decision making). I contend that the aesthetic component will end (although remenants might remain if eyeglass displays win the visual component race) and hence Apple's dominance due to this factor will cease to exist.. Apple will also cease to maintain market share due to simplicity as soon as O/S manufactures make it easier to dial in the degree of control one wishes to face in operating their device at any given moment. That moment will exist and soon as O/S manufactures realize they are in the battle for their lives at this very moment. Rather than create hierarchical methods of hiding control, I suggest the current trend of "styles" (each offers increasing access to control with associated complexity), where styles are changed at whim will end up displacing Apple

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:34 AM 0

12. StraightEdgeNexus

Tl;Dr version please

posted on May 08, 2014, 8:48 AM 0

13. number29

Posts: 185; Member since: Jan 25, 2013

"That's a godsend for consumers, but it might cost us the current diversity in products somewhere down the line." That's why it's only a godsend for those who are too short sighted to see the writing on the wall. We've seen it in the Windows PC market and we're seeing it now in the Android market.

posted on May 08, 2014, 9:19 AM 0

14. sbfalex

Posts: 29; Member since: Jan 25, 2013

please get your facts straight phonearena or the source this article was obtained... china telecom has been selling iphones for the past 3, 4 years and it's the smallest of the 3 major carriers in China... The largest carrier in China is China Mobile and that's the one that recently started selling iphones...