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Xiaomi is giving Samsung plenty of reasons to be nervous

Updated Aug 5th, 2014 11:25AM EDT
Samsung Q2 2014 China Sales

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Samsung has been the vendor to beat in China for quite some time, but according to the latest figures from research firm Canalys, Xiaomi has taken the top spot in the second quarter of 2014. Xiaomi managed to capture 14% of the market with nearly 15 million units sales while Samsung took second place with 13.2 million, Lenovo took third with 13 million and Yulong and Huawei rounded out the top 5.

Compare these numbers to the first quarter results in which Samsung carried a whopping 18.3% of the market to Xiaomi’s 10.7%. Even Lenovo trumped Xiaomi at the beginning of the fiscal year with an 11% market share.

“The aggressive pricing points for top-notch products is an important reason that led to its success,” Canalys analyst Jingwen Wang told The Wall Street Journal. “Both its Mi (flagship) series products and Redmi series products are price-competitive devices and feature top-notch chipsets, displays and cameras.”

When purchasing a Xiaomi device in China, you’re likely to pay the equivalent of just over $100, while Samsung’s flagship smartphones typically cost over $500. Wang also notes that Xiaomi’s marketing strategies and dedication to software development have been key to its success. In fact, the install base of Xiaomi’s MIUI interface is over 50 million worldwide.

Both Apple and Samsung have an interesting dilemma on their hands if the low-cost phenomenon continues to grow at such a rapid pace.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.