In the midst of Chinese OEM monopoly in 2015, Huawei has seemingly triumphed over Xiaomi, being the third in number of smartphone units sold worldwide, compared to Xiaomi at fifth place. However, on homeground, Xiaomi still remains king in the Chinese smartphone market.
While it may turn out to be good news for Xiaomi, the Chinese OEM has faced some criticism over its failure to reach its 2015 target of 80 million smartphones, with Huawei surpassing the 100 million mark, placing itself in the elite group alongside Samsung and Apple.
According to Canalys, China’s smartphone market has only grown by 2% in 2015, mainly due to market saturation. Nicole Peng, an analyst from Canalys said that the sale of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3 smartphones had helped boost its sales in Q4. The affordable feature rich device which packs a fingerprint sensor, proved to be competitive in China’s year end sales period.
Many other Chinese OEM’s will be giving Xiaomi a tough fight, attempting to dethrone the king of 2015 from China’s top spot. Huawei is tipped to topple Xiaomi, producing a number of premium devices under its belt lately. Vivo, another Chinese OEM, is also expected to rise up this year.
Xiaomi’s market share in 2015 was 15.2%, followed by Huawei at 14.2% and Apple at 12.5%. Which side are you leaning on? Xiaomi or Huawei? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Source: Wall Street Journal
