Xiaomi beats Samsung to take the pole position in Smartphone market

Xiaomi has one of the most impressive success stories in the market. Within a period of four years, the company has not only built a reputation for itself but also made way to the very top of the ranking-list.

Image Source: canalys.com

Xiaomi's run to the top rank has been troubling in the higher priced segments but the company has done extremely well in the budget and mid-range category. The Redmi series has been the star player for the company with smartphones like Redmi Note 4 dominating online sales.

According to a report by research firm Canalys, Samsung has been overtaken by Xiaomi in terms of market share in the fourth quarter of 2017. "Xiaomi now leading with shipments close to 8.2 million units (27 per cent market share) in Q4 2017. Despite annual growth of 17 per cent, Samsung failed to maintain its lead, shipping just over 7.3 million smartphones (25 per cent share) to take second place," Canalys said in its report.

Reports for the third quarter had tied Xiaomi and Samsung to the top spot with a 23.5 per cent market share. The fourth quarter results are bound to create ripples in the smartphone market. Earlier, we reported that Samsung might be planning an all new series of smartphones that will compete directly with the likes of Xiaomi and Motorola.

The South Korean tech giant can do that only by launching value for money propositions. The closest to competition within Samsung, the J-series is one of the best-selling series of the manufacturer.

For Xiaomi, the low-priced devices were not the only factor that attracted more buyers. The company recently ventured into mainstream brick and mortar stores which also gave them a push in sales.

According to the research firm, the company's independence from its Chinese hierarchy has been a deciding factor in increasing sales. "Multiple factors have contributed to Xiaomi's growth, but the key reason for its current success lies in the autonomy that it granted to its Indian unit, letting it run the business locally," Canalys Research Analyst Ishan Dutt said.

Overall, the Indian smartphone market grew by 6 per cent. The dip in growth rate can be attributed to the busy third quarter as vendors and channel partners take stock of the products. Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo followed the top two rank holders. The total smartphone shipments has been estimated under 30 million units.