Chinese tech giant Xiaomi surpassed Apple in global smartphone sales for August 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. This marks the first time Xiaomi has held the second spot since August 2021, despite maintaining flat sales from the previous month. Meanwhile, Apple saw a typical seasonal decline in sales, which contributed to its fall to third place.
Counterpoint Research’sSmartphone 360 Monthly Tracker highlighted Xiaomi as one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands this year. Its growth was driven by successful promotions in Latin America, helping to offset downturns in its other key markets.
"Xiaomi’s strategic focus on simplifying its product lineup, concentrating on one standout model per price segment instead of multiple devices, has been crucial to its recent success," said Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research. He added that the company’s enhanced marketing and expansion into new territories have further bolstered its performance.
Xiaomi’s dominance has been particularly noticeable in the lower-cost smartphone market, where its Redmi 13 and Note 13 series have gained significant traction. These competitively priced 5G devices have bolstered Xiaomi's position across India, Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Meanwhile, Apple shares dropped nearly three per cent on Monday amid concerns over demand for its new iPhone 16 Pro models. Analysts pointed to shorter delivery times for the latest models as a possible indicator of weaker-than-expected interest. Early data from BofA Global Research showed that shipping times for the iPhone 16 Pro were around 14 days, compared to 24 days for last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. The iPhone 16 Pro Max also saw shorter shipping times, at 19 days, compared to 32 days for the previous model.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a prominent Taiwan-based analyst, suggested that the delay in rolling out Apple’s much-anticipated AI feature, Apple Intelligence, could be dampening demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series.
