Who’s Beating Apple And Samsung In China?

Apple is dominating the U.S. smartphone market, but that isn’t the case in China. It’s not the case for Samsung, either — at least not anymore.

Emerging Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has been making a name for itself in the Chinese market, and according to data reported in a Tech In Asia article, Xiaomi has taken over as the top smartphone maker in China — topping both leading rivals Apple and Samsung. This is a blow to Samsung, in particular, which once had a stronghold over the nation’s smartphone market. Data from IDC research show that Xiaomi marketshare in China topped Samsung for the first time in 2014.

According to data reported by Steven Millward in Tech in Asia, Samsung once had a 18.7 percent marketshare, and Chinese-based Xiaomi only made up 5.3 percent of that share. That switch in a year period results in a 186.5 percent growth for Xiaomi, according to data.

But what about Apple? While it continues to gain in popularity across China, it’s still not dominating the market. In fact, it’s not even close. The launch of Apple’s iPhone 6 helped Apple’s iPhone sales growth as it continues to capture a larger share of China’s market. CEO Tim Cook reported that first-quarter earnings in revenue from “greater China” hit $16.1 billion, which reflects a 70 percent growth from the year prior. While the U.S. still makes up a majority of Apple’s retail sales, Cook indicated that the company’s growing presence in China will help show a shifting global market for the company.

Millward reported that Apple was second in smartphone shipments into China, but in terms of capturing market share, Apple still lags behind the emerging Xiaomi as the top smartphone maker. Xiaomi said it sold 61 million smartphones in 2014 and it projects to hit 100 million phones in 2015.