Xiaomi overtakes Apple in global smartphone shipments to claim third spot in rankings

Things are looking good for Apple as it finally breaks into the 5G market with the release of the iPhone 12. As early as now, analysts are already projecting that its latest handset will become the template for Android OEMs in the near future. Moreover, its compatibility with the new telecommunications technology would likely push the growth network infrastructure that supports the standard. However, it seems that Xiaomi has recently overtaken the Cupertino-based tech group when it comes to global smartphone sales.

This is a notable development as for the past 10 years, Apple always maintained a spot in the top three rankings. As indicated by a report from the Financial Times, the data was provided by three market analysis groups. As it stands right now, the top has been claimed by Samsung as Huawei drops to second, which is attributed to the effects of the ongoing trade ban with the United States.

According to the reports submitted by Counterpoint Research, IDC, and Canalys, Apple posted a significant dip in revenue for the past three months leading to September. It seems hardware sales in the Chinese market failed to meet expectations. Xiaomi, on the other hand, reported a 46 percent surge in worldwide shipments at around 46.2 units.

"There was symmetry in Q3, as Xiaomi added 14.5m units and Huawei lost 15.1m. In Europe, a key battleground, Huawei's shipments fell 25 per cent, while Xiaomi's grew 88 per cent," said Canalys analyst Mo Jia. "Xiaomi took a risk setting high production targets, but this move paid off when it was able to fill channels in Q3 with high-volume budget devices, such as the Redmi 9 series."

Overall, the smartphone market experienced a slump as the pandemic affected production and sales. Nevertheless, some market researchers are confident the positive reception of Apple's 5G handsets will likely drive its shipments up this quarter.

This means it will likely claw its way back to unseat whoever remains or plunges to third place. If supply chain troubles continue to plague Huawei, it might eventually lose its ground to the brands that follow it. The latest smartphone models from Xiaomi are the Mi 10T Pro and the Mi 10T, which are its flagship offerings for 2020.