On September 18, Xiaomi ranked second in global smartphone shipments in August 2024, the first time since August 2021. Counterpoint Research pointed out that although Xiaomi’s sales were flat compared with the previous month compared with Apple’s seasonal decline in the same period, Xiaomi is still one of the fastest growing brands in the global smartphone market recovery in 2024.
There is a sentence worth noting in the report, “This is the first time since August 2021”, because before that, in the second quarter of 2021, Xiaomi surpassed Apple to become the second largest smartphone brand in the world. At that time, Samsung’s market share was 19%, Apple’s market share was 14%, and Xiaomi achieved a market share of 17% in Q2 with a growth rate of 83%, which was close to Samsung. Now, after three years, Xiaomi has returned to second place again, which shows the importance of Xiaomi’s product combing and new category development over the years, which has consolidated its global position.
For domestic brands, it is difficult to bypass Samsung and Apple in the global competition. Their absolute dominance has been equaled by domestic brands from the past to the present. As early as 2019, Huawei was at its peak, and the share of many terminal products in the global market grew rapidly. Among them, Huawei’s smartphone shipments exceeded 240 million units, and its market share ranked second in the world. If Huawei was given a little more time at that time, it would not even be a problem to surpass Samsung. However, the situation is unpredictable, and a sanction temporarily shattered Huawei’s dream, so it can only continue to sharpen its sword and look for opportunities.
After Huawei, Xiaomi has become the leader of domestic brands facing Samsung and Apple. On the one hand, Xiaomi continues to move towards the high-end market, taking root in the high-end market with folding screens and digital series. On the other hand, it continues to win the mid- and low-end market with the ultra-high cost-effectiveness of Redmi, thereby occupying a larger market share. Facts have proved that Xiaomi’s strategy is correct, and the advantages of dual brands have been fully utilized. Now returning to the second place in the world is the best proof.
Moreover, Xiaomi is constantly optimizing its product strategy. In a report by Counterpoint Research, it was mentioned that Xiaomi adopted a more streamlined product strategy this year, focusing on building a flagship product in each price range instead of launching multiple devices in the same market segment. In addition, it continues to explore new markets while consolidating its position in existing markets. Although Xiaomi’s entry-level to mid-range devices continue to perform well, it has also made breakthroughs in the fields of foldable screens and ‘ultra-high-end’ devices.
The report also mentioned that Xiaomi’s key markets have seen an economic recovery in the past few quarters, which is most beneficial to demand in the low-price range. Xiaomi performed particularly strongly in the low-price range (i.e. below $200), especially after launching the competitively priced 5G devices Redmi 13 and Note 13 series. Redmi devices have been very popular, helping Xiaomi gain market share in all key markets, especially India, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Redmi Note series, and Redmi Mobile officially announced its 10-year performance, with cumulative global sales of 420 million units, making it the undisputed king of the mid-range. This month, the new Redmi Note 14 series will also be released. According to reports, the new products have very strong drop resistance and battery life, and will continue to support IP68. For mid-range products at this price, IP68 and drop resistance have become a major killer for product breakthroughs in recent years. The test behind this is actually the brand’s cost control. Every brand may be able to add similar functions, but they can still make a profit after adding them. This is the secret of the Redmi Note series’ hot sales.
In the high-end market, Xiaomi cooperated with Leica to create Leica Imaging, hoping to strengthen consumers’ memory points through the imaging track. On the other hand, it continued to polish the folding screen, and it turned out to have achieved good results. Take the Ultra series as an example. While configuring the cup, Xiaomi deeply followed Leica optics and created full-focal-length master portraits, which was recognized by many photography enthusiasts. Moreover, Xiaomi did not disappoint users in its ability to make things happen. Professional photography sets can easily capture the hearts of photography enthusiasts.
In July this year, Xiaomi launched two folding screen products, Xiaomi MIX Fold 4 and Xiaomi MIX Flip. The former is an update to the large folding series, while the latter fills the gap in the small folding market. In terms of product strength, Xiaomi MIX Fold 4 is a masterpiece of Xiaomi after three generations of technological accumulation and continuous breakthroughs in key areas. It is the most advanced, most sophisticated, and lightest full-equipped large folding flagship in the history of Xiaomi mobile phones. The light and thin experience has reached the first echelon of the industry. At the same time, with the support of Leica full-focus quad-camera, the third-generation Snapdragon 8, wireless charging, and two-way satellite communication capabilities, Xiaomi’s large folding has strong competitiveness in the market.
In the small folding, Xiaomi still continues the high-end route, bringing users a 4.01-inch full-size multi-functional large external screen, the third-generation Snapdragon 8, Leica optical professional imaging, etc., successfully creating Xiaomi’s differentiated competitiveness, and its competitiveness in the market is quite strong. Of course, Xiaomi’s dual-folding strategy in the mobile phone market is actually complementary to the hot sales of Xiaomi cars. In this whole set of human-car-home ecology, when users use Xiaomi folding screens to get a good experience, they may consider Xiaomi cars, and vice versa. This product matrix is rarely available on the market.
Returning to global sales itself, in September, Apple will actually usher in a wave of strong growth. The iPhone 16 series will be sold globally for the first time. Although there are only 10 days left until the end of the month, the sales growth cannot be ignored. If Xiaomi can still surpass Apple in September, its second place in the world will be further consolidated. After all, the competitiveness of the upcoming Redmi Note 14 series and Xiaomi 15 series should not be underestimated.
Summarize
For Xiaomi, it is not easy to achieve the second place in the world in August. It has to catch up with Apple and Samsung, and stay vigilant to prevent being overtaken by domestic competitors. In September, a new stage of competition, can Xiaomi seize the opportunity with its Snapdragon 8GEN4 product? Can it continue to maintain the competitiveness of its differentiated products and not be surpassed by its competitors? At the same time, facing Huawei, which is frantically trying to regain the market, how should Xiaomi respond with its strong dominance in the high-end market? Behind all these, Xiaomi’s performance in the future is actually a great test. What kind of pattern will the global market form in the golden autumn of September? Let us wait and see.
