Counterpoint: Xiaomi kicks Samsung to become the number 1 smartphone brand globally in June 2021

Counterpoint Research yesterday published a report showing that Xiaomi has become the number 1 smartphone brand in the world for the first time ever in June 2021.

File photo: Mi 11 camera bump

Number 1 for the month of June!

In terms of global monthly smartphone sales (sell-through) volumes, the Chinese tech giant bested South Korean firm Samsung to become the number 1 smartphone according to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Market Pulse Service.

Its report noted that Xiaomi's sales grew by 26 percent MoM in June 2021 making it the fastest-growing brand for the month. It added that Xiaomi was also the number 2 brand globally for Q2 2021 in terms of sales. Since 2011, Xiaomi has sold close to 800 million smartphones worldwide.

Based on Counterpoint's data, Xiaomi captured 17.1 percent of the global market share. Samsung dropped to number 2 with 15.7 percent and Apple is at number 3 with 14.3 percent.

Commenting on the market dynamics that led to Xiaomi attaining pole position, Research Director Tarun Pathak noted, Ever since the decline of Huawei commenced, Xiaomi has been making consistent and aggressive efforts to fill the gap created by this decline. The OEM has been expanding in Huawei's and HONOR's legacy markets like China, Europe, Middle East and Africa. In June, Xiaomi was further helped by China, Europe and India's recovery and Samsung’'s decline due to supply constraints.

Commenting on the China market and Samsung supply constraints, Senior Analyst Varun Mishra said, China's market grew 16% MoM in June driven by the 618 festival, with Xiaomi being the fastest growing OEM, riding on its aggressive offline expansion in lower-tier cities and solid performance of its Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and the Redmi K series. At the same time, due to a fresh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, Samsung's production was disrupted in June, which resulted in the brand's devices facing shortages across channels. Xiaomi, with its strong mid-range portfolio and wide market coverage, was the biggest beneficiary from the short-term gap left by Samsung’s A series.

The firm notes that this lead could be temporary once Samsung's production recovers from Vietnam's COVID-19 wave. But, the race has gotten close.

could prove to be temporary once Samsung’s production recovers from Vietnam’s COVID-19 wave, but the race has gotten close. If the situation in Vietnam does not improve, Xiaomi will continue to gain share from the Korean brand.

Source: Counterpoint