We are still living in a pandemic world but it does not mean the end for humanity. A few countries have already moved on and have seemingly redeemed the lost months of being in lockdown. Many are still suffering, facing second and third waves. But then life must go on for most of us. In the mobile market, we have seen how the coronavirus changed the game. Brands and service providers have adjusted—whether big or small and we can expect more changes, innovations, or new inventions will be introduced.
We are now in the second quarter of the year which means numbers for Q1 2021 are ready. Canalys just reported some good news. Phone shipments have hit 347 million which is about 27% up from last year.
On top of the ranking is Samsung with 22.5% share (76.5 million) followed by Apple getting 15% of the market with 52.4 million iPhones. The iPhone 11 and the iPhone 12 were in demand. The iPhone 12 Mini didn’t really do well contrary to the expectation.
In third place is Xiaomi with 49 million units. That is said to be 62% better last year. Huawei is out and is down to seventh place, selling only 18.6 million units.
Xiaomi is back as the top Chinese OEM. Depending on the numbers and the reports, others may say OPPO has overtaken Huawei and Xiaomi in the Chinese mobile market. Huawei’s numbers may really go down this 2021 and that’s what is happening now.
Xiaomi still has potential to get bigger especially with the Mi 11 Ultra and the Mi Mix Fold. Both are still more affordable compared to Samsung’s premium flagship phones.