As most of you know, the Chinese smartphone market has been the largest in the world for quite some time. Many of the companies operating in China can boast of great achievements over the past couple of years.

A striking example of these are Xiaomi and Huawei. Both of these brands are growing rapidly: Huawei sold a total of 108 million smartphones last year, while Xiaomi reached 70 million units, which is undoubtedly impressive considering the company was founded in 2010 and is relatively new to the market. smartphones.


IDC published an interesting graph that shows the growth in sales of companies operating in China from 2011 to 2015. The list consists of four Chinese companies, as well as Apple. The chart shows that since 2011, Apple, Xiaomi and Huawei have gained rapid growth rates and are significantly ahead of their rivals. Particularly striking is the graph of Xiaomi, which managed to raise its level from zero to the absolute leader among smartphone manufacturers in China. According to IDC Xiaomi devices make up 15% of the Chinese market, and this is without a doubt the first place in the ranking of Chinese manufacturers. It is followed by the no less famous brand Huawei - 14.5%, and of course Apple - 13.4% of the market.


Analyzing 2015 specifically, it is worth noting that Xiaomi increased its figures by 23.2%, while their main competitors Huawei and Apple managed to raise the mark by 53% and 56%, respectively. Regarding pricing, the price for Huawei devices increased by 20.9%, while Xiaomi devices fell slightly in price (-7.6%). It is difficult to predict the future development trends of these and other Chinese brands.

According to IDC, 2016 is likely to become a crisis year for the Chinese smartphone market. In addition, IDC claims that most companies are already selling their products online, which will inevitably entail changes in the specifics of the market.

*Translation of article from Gizmochina

According to the latest market research conducted by AVANTI, the research arm of TrendForce, Xiaomi has become the most frequently used smartphone brand among Chinese consumers. Xiaomi has already managed to rise noticeably, and according to the latest data, it has surpassed such a large giant as, and is currently in first place in the Chinese market. TrendForce believes that Xiaomi is no longer greatly influenced by sales of smartphones such as Lenovo and ZTE, which produce products similar in price category.

Xiaomi is probably the most well-known brand for its “low cost and high performance” and, as many respondents noted, reputation. According to AVANTI research, more than 60% of consumers surveyed expressed interest in buying Xiaomi Red Mi Note 2 due to its high price/performance ratio, as well as its availability in the economy class smartphone segment. Of the respondents surveyed, the majority of those who were interested in the device because of its low price (from 39 years of age or younger). The male half of China is most interested in internet connectivity, and they tend to be more interested in the Xiaomi brand because of this than their female counterparts.

Smartphones have also managed to win over users of various smartphones from other brands. Compared with by Apple, which enjoys high customer loyalty to its brand, many of the Android smartphone companies have suffered from the rise in popularity of the Xiaomi brand. A great desire to switch to the Xiaomi Red Mi Note 2 smartphone was expressed by users among Samsung and ZTE, and moderately among users, Lenovo and Huawei.

According to data collected by AVANTI, one third of Chinese respondents believe that the Chinese company Xiaomi, currently ranked third in the category of “most used smartphone brand” in the world, will soon take the leading position and overtake giants such as Apple and Samsung in this field.

In just a few months, we will summarize the results of smartphone sales for 2017, and looking at the third quarter figures, we are sure of one thing - Xiaomi is showing the highest growth rates.

The only question is how long will Xiaomi be able to maintain this pace?

In just 2 months, the end of 2017 will be over, and one of the phenomena for which we will remember these twelve months will, of course, be the incredible growth in popularity of the Chinese company Xiaomi. Just a few months ago, few people had heard of this manufacturer, but today it is one of those companies that appears in any topics about smartphones, discussions regarding devices from almost any segment - from the cheapest ones like Xiaomi 4A. And if we look at the smartphone sales results for the third quarter of 2017, then everything falls into place.

The sales report was prepared by the analytical company IDC and its main data, you will see on the right. As you can see, Samsung still has the largest market share, followed by Apple and Huawei.

And what interests us most is the number of devices sold per year from individual manufacturers, i.e. compared to the third quarter of 2016. Here Samsung (+9.5%) and Huawei (+16.1%) can again boast of good results, while Xiaomi’s result is simply cosmic numbers - 102.2%! From July to the end of September, the company shipped 27.6 million devices to stores, and if it maintains this amazing growth rate for the year, the company will sell the most smartphones in the world next year. More smartphones than Huawei or Apple!

That's right, the only question is will Xiaomi be able to maintain this pace of development? This is not an easy task, but it is certainly not impossible, and we will keep an eye on it. One thing is clear - the company cannot rest on its laurels and must constantly release successful devices, like Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.

Long Sony time was considered the “Japanese Apple”, as it created truly unique, unusual and innovative devices for its time. Unfortunately, in the 2000s, her passion faded somewhat, although now things have begun to improve. Nevertheless, a holy place is never empty, and the Koreans picked up the baton. Samsung creates very interesting devices, invests a lot of money in technology, although it does not shy away from borrowing ideas from competitors. But in technical terms, this is one of the market leaders who is not afraid to experiment either. It would seem that the intrigue would end there, but the most dangerous competitor showed his grin only now. Yes, yes, the Chinese have launched a large-scale offensive. So far, this is especially noticeable only in the home market, although, given its volume, it’s time for industry giants to start being afraid. It's about the company Xiaomi, which currently sells only half as many smartphones in China as Apple does.

It is worth noting that Xiaomi has been on the market for several years now, although it started with . Nevertheless, the company entered its home market really loudly, and word of mouth spread around the world. Its devices turned out to be of high quality, powerful, very compact and at the same time cost half as much as competing flagships with similar characteristics.

Why should Apple be so worried about this? The fact is that 70% the company receives income from selling iPhones, with the vast majority of the money coming from sales of expensive flagship models. Yes, the American manufacturer is incredibly popular in the USA and Europe, its brand is known all over the world, but the growth of developed markets has seriously slowed down in recent years, which is especially noticeable in the field of consumer electronics.

Ratio iPhone sales to annual growth

And here Developing markets, on the contrary, are growing by leaps and bounds. These are countries like India And China. The only problem is that the population in these regions prefers to purchase inexpensive smartphones. Apple's refusal to release a cheap iPhone initially opened the way to developing markets for Samsung and other well-known brands, and now Chinese smartphone manufacturers have rushed into this niche, including Xiaomi, which are developing at a rapid pace.

The first ones are cheap Chinese smartphones no different high quality and even the hero of this news had questions from people. But now, according to their characteristics, some Chinese devices came very close to the famous flagships, and Xiaomi turned out to be one of the leaders in this regard, having managed to create a kind of cult in China, as Apple did in the US in the past. Naturally, against this backdrop, sales of Chinese smartphones shot up at warp speed. For example, in the first quarter of this year, sales Xiaomi phones, which is now rightly called the “Apple of the Celestial Empire,” have reached 15 million devices, which amounted to 278 percent increase compared to last year's result.

Xiaomi already sells in China more phones than Apple, and yet 15 million is almost half of the projected iPhone sales worldwide in the current quarter (about 35 million). Of course, when an American company releases it, it will sell it in a few quarters 60–70 million such devices, but the sales of the Chinese competitor will not stand still and may well approach those of Apple.

Where do rice lovers get such agility? Here's a simple example - flagship Xiaomi Mi3 sold at a price of $320 , which is about half the cost in the US. At the same time, the characteristics of the Mi3 easily compete with both the American smartphone and its Korean counterparts. Moreover, Xiaomi also has some very nice Android smartphones in its assortment, priced at $100 .

And it would be fine if this one company stood up to Apple. There are other fast Chinese enterprises that produce high-quality and cheap phones. Recently the company has experienced a real boom OnePlus with your smartphone One. 5.5-inch (Full HD) flagship with 13-megapixel camera with Sony sensor Exmor, 4-core Snapdragon processor 801 (2.5 GHz), 3 GB random access memory, a 16-gigabyte drive and a 3100 mAh battery also costs half as much as the iPhone 5s.

Pay attention to how rapidly the market for cheap smartphones is growing - at the moment, together, these Chinese companies are already selling many more phones than Apple:

And this is not plastic trash that crumbles right in your hands. These companies offer very interesting handsets, and the above-mentioned OnePlus One is an excellent example. There are no less interesting developments Huawei(remember the same ultra-thin (6.5 mm) Ascend P7 with a 5-inch Full HD display and a weight of 124 g), and ZTE, and from other companies. Moreover, remakes actively use technology Steve Jobs to attract the masses and form their own cult. Again, a great example is the head of OnePlus Pete Lau(former vice president Oppo), whom Chinese fans now simply idolize.

Thus, the average price difference between Chinese flagships and the iPhone is $300 - that’s how much Apple earns on each smartphone. If an American company decides to lower the prices of its devices in order to compete with Xiaomi and similar companies, then it will actually hit its own profits.

Could this happen? Ferocious Apple fans will dismiss such an idea, noting that the company is a premium brand for premium users. She's something like BMW or Mercedes on mobile market, while Xiaomi, OnePlus and other “Chinese” can be compared with Chrysler or Ford. The analogy is compelling, but there are two important factors to keep in mind:

• First- Apple's user base has long expanded beyond the “premium market” of Mercedes and BMW buyers. For example, in the USA its share is 40%, while the luxury car market is at the level of 10–11%. That is, the company already sells a ton of phones to those who drive Chryslers and Fords, as well as to users who prefer public transport.
• Second factor is that, unlike the automobile market, the mobile market is primarily tied to the platform. That is, third-party developers create products (applications and services in this case) that are focused on working with a specific platform. And in this case, market share is very important. If it drops too much, third-party developers will have less incentive to create products for the platform. And if the platform has few applications and services, then users will also have little reason to stick with it.

It turns out that Apple's falling market share in some markets will make it even harder to compete, even with iPhone prices falling.

In developed countries, it is easy for the company to maintain a fairly high market share, even taking into account the high cost of its smartphones. This is possible thanks to the operators mobile communications, offering its customers smartphones at a deep discount, but on contract terms. Psychologically, it’s easier for people to pay $200 for the same iPhone, even with a two-year contract. But in emerging markets and those where the model of subsidizing smartphones by operators is not widespread, inexpensive handsets are a serious threat to Apple’s well-being. The combination of the high price of devices and the small market share of the platform makes the growth of an American company in the markets of India and China (the most promising at the moment) very difficult.

When Xiaomi created their first tablet, they did not reinvent the wheel and simply borrowed design ideas from

Does this mean that Apple is in danger? No. The release of iPhone 6 will bring strong sales, huge profits to the company and even expand its market share in developed markets. Record financial results will be achieved again. In addition, we should not forget that the American manufacturer has more money in its accounts than it or any other IT structure needs, and this is a huge financial margin of safety.

On the other hand, everything written above suggests that Apple's profitability in the next few years will be under serious pressure from competitors. So far, inexpensive and high-quality Chinese smartphones are mainly conquering the native market, but in the near future they will flood into the world. Naturally, such a situation will not have the best effect on the company's shares, even if its profits continue to grow. [