Two home-grown smartphone makers are fighting it out in the race to sell the most smartphones in China. Until recently, Xiaomi had dominated the local competition, even rivaling Apple in the country, but a new report claims Huawei may now sell more handsets than its regional rival.
A new study from Canalys (via The Wall Street Journal) reveals Huawei recently saw an 81 percent rise in smartphone shipments, rocketing it past Xiaomi. At the same time, Xiaomi seems to be struggling. Its shipments actually fell in the most recent quarter compared to the same three months a year earlier.
Huawei is currently beating its rival in China, but it may have an even bigger advantage in the global market. Xiaomi still only sells its phones in a handful of countries, and the company often offers limited numbers of each new device. By comparison, Huawei has quickly become a global brand with a presence in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Most recently, the company even collaborated with Google on its new Nexus 6P smartphone.
Of course, that means Xiaomi still has the potential for massive growth as it expands into developed markets such as the U.S. and Europe. But the company will need to act fast if it wants to keep up with Huawei.
Source: WSJ