The Last 12 Months Are A Very Important Historical Period For Xiaomi. In 2020, The Company Overtook Huawei To Become The Third Largest Company In The World In Terms Of Global Supply Of Smartphones.

However, the company’s position did not stop there, and Xiaomi achieved a more important position.

According to Canalys, the company was able to become the second best-selling smartphone brand in the world in the second quarter of 2021, behind Apple. Xiaomi’s 17% stake, compared to Apple’s 14% stake, reflects Xiaomi’s great success. However, we have not yet reached the current position of Xiaomi.

According to Counterpoint Research, in June 2021, Xiaomi overtook Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone maker after eight years. With a 15.7 percent market share, Samsung still sold fewer handsets than Xiaomi with 17.1 percent.

So now that Xiaomi has become the world’s largest handset maker and supplier, the question is, how long can the company hold that position? This is exactly the reason why this article is written, and this is the reason why you will continue to be with us.

How did Xiaomi get first place?

Probably the biggest reason for Xiaomi’s rise was the US sanctions against Huawei in 2019. Severe US sanctions against Huawei have caused the Chinese giant to lose its position in the global market since 2019 gradually. The sanctions allowed Xiaomi to go one step further and eventually overtake Huawei in the third quarter of 2020.

As a result, Huawei lost its position among the top 5 phone suppliers globally in the same period. The same thing happened inside China in July 2020. Xiaomi took the opportunity to expand its business to more than 100 different markets, especially in Europe, the Middle East, and Huawei’s other main targets.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi captured 50% of the Western European market in this way. Xiaomi’s 150 percent increase in Africa and 300 percent in Latin America is a good example of how the Chinese company achieved astonishing figures in recent months.

Huawei’s approach to working with operators, especially when it comes to 5G, highlights another extraordinary opportunity for Xiaomi.

In fact, even before the US imposed sanctions on Huawei, Xiaomi had already reached an agreement with European operators to launch the Mi Mix 3 5G in early 2019. Xiaomi’s approaches have only improved since then.

According to Xiaomi’s interview with the Android Authority, the company has launched a special team since late 2019 to work with global operators. This team and its other benefits mean that Xiaomi now works directly with 150 operators around the world.

Earlier in September 2020, the company announced that it was working with 50 telecommunications companies in more than 100 different sub-networks. There seems to be significant progress in the process of cooperation between Xiaomi and telecommunications companies, right?

Of course, Xiaomi is not the only manufacturer to benefit from US sanctions against Huawei. Oppo, Riley, and Vivo are among the other companies trying to fill Huawei’s vacancy quickly and make up for its loss.

However, all the reports show that Xiaomi is in the first place, regardless of everything. In fact, in the past few years, it is not strange to see several Redmi smartphones (from the Xiaomi subset) in the list of the most popular smartphones in the world.

How long will Xiaomi be the top phone maker in the world?

It is challenging for us to see the competition and take first place in this market by a company other than Samsung for a significant period of time because this Korean manufacturer has been shining in this position for almost a decade.

Huawei had endangered Samsung’s throne for a short time, but now the situation is different. Given the prevalence of coronary heart disease and the existing sanctions, it seems that what happened is time-dependent and, contrary to popular belief, the changes will not be significant.

June 2021 reports clearly show that Xiaomi can beat Samsung anyway, even if it does last a month and does not go beyond that. Reports in the second quarter of 2021 show that Xiaomi, with only 1% more market share, has been able to rely on the first position of the best-selling smartphone brand in the world. However, it should note that Xiaomi has seen 83% growth this year, which is only 8% for Samsung.

As a result, it looks like Xiaomi could hold the top spot for more than a month if it can maintain its explosive growth momentum.

The existence of corona and its epidemic in Vietnam is now an apparent and obvious reducing factor. According to Canalys, a new wave of coronary heart disease has affected the company’s handsets in Vietnam. As a result, Samsung phones are in short supply, both in traditional stores and online stores.

Xiaomi can fill this gap, especially regarding the shortage of Samsung’s A-Series economic products. According to the same source, the supply chain of Samsung is expected to improve in the third quarter of 2021.

In other words, Samsung can thus prioritize the supply of parts and equipment it needs, given its huge market share. On the other hand, we should consider that the company introduced a new generation of its clamshell phones a few days ago, which are expected to record sales three times better than in 2020. But how much will this increase in sales increase Samsung’s total share of the global market? Here, too, it is better to pay attention to the source of our predictions:

While this may seem like a lot, from a statistical point of view, this increase will still be small in 2021 because 9 million units are expected to be launched in the market, and Samsung will occupy 88% of the market for these products.

On the other hand, Samsung is not the only company that Xiaomi should be worried about. The company should also try to bridge the gap between itself and Apple. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020, after a break of almost 4 years, Apple was able to take advantage of the decline in sales of Samsung phones and, thanks to the increase in sales of new iPhones, to be in a significant position.

As experience has shown and we are sure, the quarter after introducing the new iPhones brings a very positive statistic for Apple.

When Xiaomi can finally distance itself significantly from Apple, the Chinese manufacturer is expected to compete with Samsung. In fact, beating Samsung, in the long run, requires that Xiaomi beat other competitors earlier.

For example, the company ranks third in Latin America. Motorola is one of the leading companies in the region, with a 21% market share. Xiaomi should try to get this amount of share with the right infrastructure.

According to Counterpoint reports, Xiaomi’s recent developments in the region, particularly in Mexico and Colombia, show that the manufacturer is on the right track to gaining a share of the competition. Following the company’s fatal mistakes in capturing the Brazilian market in 2015 could lead to significant changes for Xiaomi.

Of course, Latin America is not the only region where Xiaomi competes with companies other than Samsung. Africa is another significant region from which Xiaomi has not yet been able to acquire a share fully.

As Motorola is a major player in Latin America, Transsion brands (Infinix, Itel, and Tecno) are strongly felt in Africa.

According to Counterpoint Research, Techno is the largest supplier of smartphones in the region, accounting for 18% of Africa. However, Xiaomi has also significantly increased its stake from 2% to 4%. Once again, these represent the competition that Xiaomi still has ahead of it.

Also, given that Xiaomi recently opened its first official office in Africa, the Chinese company seems to have recognized the opportunities for long-term influence.

Does Xiaomi need America too?

Yes; Finally, we come to the United States, which has become Samsung’s number one home for years. Huawei has achieved significant numbers over the years without sales assistance in the United States. Still, if Xiaomi can dominate the market, it will be easier to rely on the long-term position of the world’s first smartphone maker.

Chinese smartphone makers have not been very successful in entering the United States in recent times. Some time ago, Huawei tried to enter the United States with the help of AT&T, but the US government imposed severe sanctions on the company, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

Xiaomi had previously indicated in 2018 that it intends to enter the US market in late 2018 or early 2019.

Although Xiaomi has not yet entered the United States, it announced last year that it was in the process of preparing to reach its goals for entering the United States. As a result, Xiaomi is still paying close attention to the United States and its market.

However, an interview with a spokesman for the Android Authority states that Xiaomi has not set a specific timeframe for entering the smartphone market.

Can Xiaomi, as a Chinese company, avoid the problems and, in fact, the sanctions that have been imposed on Huawei? This is a key question; Some time ago, Xiaomi could invalidate the US government’s claim that it had a successful relationship with the People’s Republic of China.

If this were to happen otherwise, American organizations and companies would be barred from investing in Xiaomi.

Xiaomi forced the US government to change the titles assigned to Xiaomi after filing a lawsuit against them. Thus, a great legal and spiritual victory happened for this Chinese company, and now there are no sanctions against it.

Another Xiaomi threat is the growth of OnePlus in the United States.

OnePlus has been in the US market since 2018, thanks to its partnership with T-Mobile. OnePlus started from almost nothing, and finally, last year, with the introduction of an economic series, it increased the numbers and intensity of its presence in the United States.

Actually, onePlus is the only smartphone maker to grow in the United States in 2020 and is also reported to have seen the most growth in the first half of 2021. While Xiaomi has not yet entered the US market and has no specific plans to enter the country, in addition to Samsung, OnePlus continues to be strong in this country. These can affect the Xiaomi Kingdom in the first place.

Xiaomi high-end handsets on the market

When we looked last year to see if Xiaomi would be the next Huawei, we realized that the Chinese company was also upgrading its products. Now, if we go back to the second half of 2021, we realize that this process remains strong, and the company has been able to enter the high-end smartphone segment with the launch of the May 11 Ultra.

Xiaomi’s first flagship waterproof phone is now available with several notable features to compete with Samsung and Apple’s Ultra and Peru models. The May 11 Ultra is equipped with a QHD + display with support for a 120Hz refresh rate, a remarkable main camera module, a secondary display on the back, and the ability to charge high-speed indirect and wireless mode with a 5,000 mAh battery.

Although this flagship Xiaomi device is not considered cheap at ۰۰ 1,200, it is a very high-end product in terms of features.

Although Xiaomi has achieved its current position mainly due to the supply of economic and intermediate products, high-end handsets can also be one of its key strategies for its growth prospects.

These products certainly can not significantly increase Xiaomi’s share, but they could well reflect the value of the company’s mid-range smartphones and more economical products.

On the other hand, increasing profit margins by selling these products can provide the necessary funding for research and development and advertising and marketing activities.

Xiaomi’s advertising divisions have always suffered from major weaknesses.

Samsung’s main competitor, Xiaomi, has outstanding performance in this area, as the company’s advertising process has so far been able to outperform competitors such as LG and HTC.

As a result, this is another factor that could bring Samsung back to the forefront, even if the company’s handsets are not superior in price and quality to Xiaomi’s products.

Xiaomi has already announced that it will apply a 5% profit on all its products and continue following this process. The development of high-end segments and the supply of products such as May 11 Ultra can guarantee a profit of more than 5% for some products for the company.

Also, if needed, Xiaomi can take over the market by offering some products with a profit of less than 5%, but with a higher profit margin of some other products, to compensate for this difference.

What do we expect from Xiaomi in 2022?

Xiaomi’s current situation in 2021 is so good that we have little reason to downgrade the company next year. In addition to increasing the company’s market share in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, Xiaomi also appears to have the right conditions to challenge Samsung in the long run.

Of course, we must also consider several issues. Apart from reviving Samsung, some potentials cannot forget. At first, Apple is still a severe threat to Xiaomi.

Since the American company was able to take first place from Samsung in the fourth quarter of 2020, it can easily send Xiaomi to second place again.

We have not heeded rumors that Apple will launch one or two cheaper products from the iPhone series next year.

Another case is the easing of Huawei sanctions in 2022 and the return of the company. Revived Huawei may not quickly return to the top three or even the top four handsets globally, but in the long run, it can capture the markets it has lost.

Given that the Biden government has increased sanctions against the company, this scenario does not seem very likely.

Finally, Xiaomi’s domestic market, China, will be another of the company’s concerns in 2022. Xiaomi is now ranked third in China, behind Vivo and Oppo. Although Xiaomi is currently experiencing its most significant growth among the country’s top five players, it has not been a major threat to the top spot for years.

 Thus, if the company intends to surpass the BBK brands (parent company Vivo, Oppo, OnePlus, etc.), it has a considerable and long effort ahead.

Do you think Xiaomi can maintain its position as the world’s top manufacturer and supplier of smartphones in the coming months and years? What do you think about the Chinese giant competing with Samsung? Could you share your comments with us?