Xiaomi Aims to Overtake Samsung for Top Smartphone Share in 3 Years

Xiaomi’s global smartphone business “achieved significant milestones” in Q2 when it rose to the No. 2 brand position behind Samsung, with 16.4% share, and was ranked No. 1 in Europe for the first time, said President Wang Xiang on a Wednesday earnings call. Its premium smartphone shipments exceeded 12 million units globally in 2021's first half, compared with 10 million in all of 2020, he said. Q2 revenue reached 87.8 billion yuan ($13.5 billion), up 64% from a year earlier. Xiaomi’s global smartphone shipment numbers increased 82.9% year over year, “the highest growth rate among the top smartphone companies,” said Chief Financial Officer Alain Lam. Xiaomi’s ambitions are to become the world’s top smartphone company within three years, based on unit shipments, said Wang. It currently trails Samsung by about 100 million handsets a year, but hopes to gain ground in Europe and exploit the “very big potential” for growth in Latin America and Africa, he said. Samsung didn’t respond to questions Thursday.