Analysts claim that Chinese phonemaker Xiaomi has pushed past Apple into the “No. 3” position for the first time ever, with a whopping 12.1 percent market share and roughly 44.4 million sales.
Apple, on the other hand, maintained a market share of around 11.1 percent, with Q3 smartphone sales totaling nearly 40.6 million. The percent difference between these two companies is small, and might not seem too significant upon a cursory glance.
However, if you dig a little deeper, Xiaomi’s explosive growth becomes far more impressive. This time last year, the phonemaker only had a market share of 8.5 percent, with Q3 shipments approaching the 33 million unit mark. According to Gartner’s research, that’s a sales boost of almost 35 percent. Apple, however, shipped fewer devices in Q3 2020 than it did in 2019, seeing a sales drop of around 0.6 percent.
The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated global markets, resulting in both shipping and manufacturing delays. With this in mind, the company certainly has a valid excuse for declining smartphone sales, though it’s peculiar to see Xiaomi excel where Apple is flagging.
Gartner researcher Anshul Gupta attributes the Chinese company’s success to “near normal conditions” in China, as well as a sudden release of “pent-up demand” from previous quarters.
Apple will likely bounce back from this minor slump in the coming months, as the world continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
