Chinese smartphone market: Xiaomi overtakes Samsung to No.1

Xiaomi sold 1.5 crore smartphones in China in the second quarter of 2014 while Samsung could manage to sell only 1.32 crore phones.

(L-R) GM and Head of India Operations, Xiaomi Corporation, Manu Kumar Jain, Flipkart VP Michael Adnani, Flipkart Co-Founder and CEO, Sachin Bansal, Xiaomi Corporation, Bin Lin and VP, Xiaomi Global, Hugo Barra at the unveiling of Xiaomi phones and tablets for the first time in India. File Photo

Xiaomi has overtaken Samsung in the Chinese smartphone market within three years to take the top spot, a Canalys report showed.

Xiaomi sold 1.5 crore smartphones in China in the second quarter of 2014 while Samsung could manage to sell only 1.32 crore phones.

Xiaomi holds a 14 percent market share in the world’s biggest cellphone market.

Lenovo is placed close behind Samsung by selling 1.3 crore phones. It has a 12 percent market share in China.

With low cost handsets loaded with impressive specifications, Xiaomi will only make further inroads into the Chinese, and the price sensitive Indian market.

In India, Xiaomi was launched this year and has made a splash with its Mi3 phone.