Xiaomi Hits Record-Breaking Sales This Year, And Apple Should Be Worried
Xiaomi is making waves all around Asia and is slowly catching up on tech giant, Apple.
By Darian Goh — 07 Jul 2014, 04:31 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Apple has previously enjoyed good growth for the sales of its iPhones, but recently their growth and sales has slightly dipped
Apple has seen their growth dip a little with the rise of emerging phone brands.
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Over the past couple of years, the growth rate of Apple’s iPhone business has tanked, which has caused Apple’s profit growth to slow. Sales growth has slowed because developed markets have matured, and Apple has not had a phone priced to sell well in huge emerging markets like China and India, where growth is still rapid.
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This is partly due to rising competitors such as Xiaomi, which offers good quality phone specs at a decent price point
Brands such as Xiaomi are offering products at an affordable price point yet packed with premium features.
Image via gizchina.comApple’s decision not to offer a low-priced phone has opened the door for, first, Samsung and other incumbents, and, now, a group of upstart Chinese smartphone makers that are growing like mad.
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In the past year, however, the quality of low-priced phones has improved dramatically, to the point where the design and specs of some of these phones, as well as the religious devotion of some of their brand fans, has come to rival that of Apple. In the first quarter, for example, sales of phones by Xiaomi, the “Apple of China,” soared to a staggering 15 million, up 278% year over year.
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In China, Xiaomi is dominating the market, outselling major phone makers such as Apple and Samsung
Xiaomi is the market leader in China, outselling major brands such as Apple and Samsung.
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China's fast-growing handset maker Xiaomi says it sold more than 26m smartphones in the first half of the year, almost four times the 7m it sold in the same period a year ago, and is on track to reach 60m handset sales by Christmas.
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Xiaomi already sells more phones than Apple in China. The 15 million is also approaching nearly half the number of phones that Apple is expected to sell worldwide this quarter
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The increase in sales, which produced a 150% rise in revenues to 33bn yuan renminbi (£3bn), means Xiami devices outsold Samsung in China for the second time in April, according to market research from Kantar, with its budget RedMI device the top selling smartphone in the country. Nearly a quarter of new users previously owned a Samsung handset, according to Kantar.
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Xiaomi's dominance is due to their product's price point, which is affordable yet packed with features found normally on premium phones
Xiaomi phones are known to be affordable yet packed with specs that can rival premium phones.
Image via ndtv.comXiaomi’s top-of-the-line phone, the Mi3, sells for about $320, about half the price of a comparable iPhone. Xiaomi also makes other well-designed phones that sell for $100.
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Importantly, many of these phones are not “cheap plastic crap,” as Apple devotees (I’m one) are fond of sniffing at any gadgets that aren’t made by Apple. They’re slick. And Xiaomi and its charismatic founder, who learned a thing or two about designing and launching products and building fan loyalty from Steve Jobs has a fanatical following in China.
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Xiaomi's strategy is to sell devices at rock bottom prices, via online shops and with minimal marketing spend, in order to recruit users for the company's software and internet services. Its phones use a customised version of Google's Android software.
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Low cost is another key factor for Xiaomi's growth. On Amazon.com's Chinese site, the iPhone 5s lists at almost $800, while the latest Xiaomi phone, MI 3, costs less than $300. Other Xiaomi models such as Redmi sell for just over $100.
cnbc.comTo celebrate their record sales so far this year, Xiaomi is launching a special champagne gold edition of their popular product, the Mi3
A gold Xiaomi will be launched to celebrate their 10 millionth sale this year.
Image via androidheadlines.comThe announcement comes straight from Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. To celebrate this achievement, the company has released a special edition 'Champagne Gold' variation of the MI-3.
This is only available in China for the moment, but expect it to at some point also make it to the handful of other territories where Xiaomi is currently doing business.