Xiaomi regains top spot as China's biggest smartphone vendor

According to a report from industry analysts, Canalys, Xiaomi has regained its top spot as China's smartphone market share leader, snagging 15.9 percent of shipments in Q2 this year, supplanting Apple, who briefly held the position in Q1 this year. In fact, Apple has fallen to third place, with Huawei rising to second, and hot on the heels of Xiaomi with 15.7 percent. Third and fourth places were taken by Samsung and Vivo respectively.

It is likely that Xiaomi's climb to the top was largely due to the release of its first premium smartphones, the Mi Note (pictured) and Mi Note Pro.

“The China smart phone market continues to mature, remaining stagnant quarter-on-quarter. Competition among major brands has never been so intense. Huawei recorded the highest smart phone shipments in its history without compromising its product margin or profitability. Apple and Samsung have both increased their sales activities in the China market, expanding rapidly in channel coverage through flagship stores and small to medium size phone retailers respectively. Xiaomi is under immense pressure to maintain its top position in the quarters to come,” said Jingwen Wang, Analyst at Canalys.

Source: Canalys