Xiaomi narrows gap with Samsung in India — report

Xiaomi has substantially increased its market share in India in the third quarter of the year and almost eliminated the gap with Samsung, according to a report from Counterpoint.

The Chinese manufacturer’s market share in the country was 22 percent in Q3, up from just six percent in the same period a year ago. Samsung’s market share remained the same and is just one percentage point larger than Xiaomi’s — 23 percent.

This means that the two companies accounted for 45 percent of the entire market. They were followed by Vivo (nine percent), Oppo (eight percent), and Lenovo (seven percent).

Smartphone shipments in India grew by 18 percent year-over-year and were driven by online channels including Flipkart’s Big Billion sale and Amazon’s Great Indian festival in September. Affordable mid-range devices (₹10,000-₹15,000) saw the biggest increase in demand, which is an area Xiaomi is very strong in. It has a number of smartphones available in this segment including the Redmi Note 4 and Redmi 4 — the two most sold handsets in the third quarter.

Samsung might still be the biggest smartphone maker in the country in terms of sales, but it’s struggling to compete against Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer is selling devices with a much better price-performance ratio, which is extremely important in a market like India.

Read: The best smartphones available in India for under Rs. 30,000

The data shows that Samsung will have to make some changes if it wants to stay the top dog in India. Otherwise, Xiaomi might overtake it in terms of sales before the year comes to an end.