Xiaomi has been the second largest smartphone maker in the world during the last quarter after a leap of 83% in shipping, according to the initial estimate by Canalys.
It marks the first opportunity that Xiaomi, maker of everything from rice cookers to monitor games, has been broken into two top, historically dominated by Samsung and Apple.
Samsung has a 19% share in the second quarter, Xiaomi has 17% and Apple is at 14%, according to research company data.
Huawei briefly disrupted the ranking, until the sanctions cut it from the essential chip inventory last year.
Withdrawal of a very competitive smartphone market encourages other Chinese vendors to spend aggressively on new hardware and improvement.
Xiaomi was very active, launching two flagship devices in the first four months of this year.
The 11 Ultra Device MI displays one of the largest camera sensors on a smart phone until now, underlines the company’s ambition to drive into the range of premium prices.
“Compared to Samsung and Apple, the average selling price is around 40% and 75% cheaper,” said the Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton.
“So the main priority for Xiaomi this year is to grow the sale of upscale devices, such as Ultra MI 11.
But it will be a difficult battle, with Oppo and Vivo sharing the same goals, and both are willing to spend a large marketing on a line to build Their brand in a way that is not Xiaomi.
“MI makers have spent the first half of this year fighting the largest smartphone maker in China with Oppo and Vivo rivals.