• This is the first time ever, in June 2021, Xiaomi has become the number one brand in global monthly smartphone sales (sell-through) volumes

• While this is a great feat for Xiaomi, it could prove to be temporary once Samsung’s production recovers from Vietnam’s COVID-19 wave, but the race has gotten close

Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, London, Boston, Toronto, New Delhi, Hong Kong – August 5, 2021

Xiaomi surpassed Samsung and Apple in June 2021 to become the number one smartphone brand in the world for the first time ever, according to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Market Pulse Service. Xiaomi’s sales grew 26% MoM in June 2021, making it the fastest-growing brand for the month. Xiaomi was also the number two brand globally for Q2 2021 in terms of sales, and cumulatively, has sold close to 800 million smartphones since its inception in 2011.

Exhibit: Global Monthly Smartphone Sales Share Trends (%)

Source: Counterpoint Research Monthly Market Pulse, July 2021

Commenting on the market dynamics that led to Xiaomi attaining pole position, Research Director Tarun Pathak noted, “Ever since the decline of Huawei commenced, Xiaomi has been making consistent and aggressive efforts to fill the gap created by this decline. The OEM has been expanding in Huawei’s and HONOR’s legacy markets like China, Europe, Middle East and Africa. In June, Xiaomi was further helped by China, Europe and India’s recovery and Samsung’s decline due to supply constraints.”

Commenting on the China market and Samsung supply constraints, Senior Analyst Varun Mishra said, “China’s market grew 16% MoM in June driven by the 618 festival, with Xiaomi being the fastest growing OEM, riding on its aggressive offline expansion in lower-tier cities and solid performance of its Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 and the Redmi K series. At the same time, due to a fresh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, Samsung’s production was disrupted in June, which resulted in the brand’s devices facing shortages across channels. Xiaomi, with its strong mid-range portfolio and wide market coverage, was the biggest beneficiary from the short-term gap left by Samsung’s A series.”

Going forward, if the situation in Vietnam does not improve, Samsung’s production is likely to remain hit with Xiaomi continuing to gain share from the Korean brand. However, once Samsung recovers, the ranks are likely to shuffle again.

Please reach out to press (at) counterpointresearch.com for press comments and enquiries.

You can also visit our Data Section (updated quarterly) to view the smartphone market share for World, USA, China and India.

Some of our other smartphone market analyses for Q2 2021:

• Apple Achieves Record June Quarter Shipments, Xiaomi Becomes the Second-Largest Smartphone Brand Globally
• India Smartphone Market Stays Resilient During Second COVID-19 Wave, Crosses 33 Million Shipments
• China Smartphone Market Sees Lowest Q2 Sales Since 2012; vivo Leads as Huawei Plummets
• Podcast: How Xiaomi, Qualcomm are Delivering 5G, AI-based Experiences to Consumers
• Q2 2021: Europe Smartphone Market’s Bumpy Road to Recovery
• MEA Smartphone Market Sees Best Q2 on Record; Samsung Leads but TECNO, Xiaomi Close Gap
• Chinese Players Capture Half of Vietnam Smartphone Market in Q2 2021

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (Technology, Media and Telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts: 

Varun Mishra

Tarun Pathak

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