Xiaomi might be just 1% away from being the top smartphone brand

Xiaomi has been on a roll recently, as a Q2 2021 Canalys report showed that it pushed past Apple for second place globally in terms of smartphone market share. Now, the tracking firm has updated this report, and it shows that the Chinese brand is actually much closer to grabbing the number one spot.

The updated report still shows that Samsung is still at the top of the pile with 58 million phones shipped and 18% of the market. But it also shows that Xiaomi has shored up its runner-up spot and shipped 52.8 million units in the quarter, accounting for 17% of the market. That means Xiaomi is behind Samsung by just 1% as opposed to 2% in the original report.

Does this mean we could see Xiaomi taking the crown in Q3 2021? Well, the firm’s year-on-year growth of 83% was much higher than that of Samsung (8%) and other manufacturers in the top five. The Korean company is also expected to launch the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. This isn’t necessarily a volume-driven segment, but it seems like Samsung has high hopes for these devices.

Nevertheless, Xiaomi’s expansion into new markets and its value-focused Redmi line mean the brand’s well-placed to grab the top spot. One potential roadblock for Xiaomi is the industry-wide chip shortage, which has forced some brands to cancel phones or restrict launches to certain markets.

Otherwise, Apple was in third place with 14% market share and 45.7 million units shipped. Oppo (10%) and Vivo (10%) rounded out the top five with 32.6 million and 31.2 million units shipped respectively.

Do you think Xiaomi can pass Samsung for the top spot? Let us know via the poll above.