Xiaomi Will Become Third Largest Smartphone Vendor Globally in 2021

The global smartphone shipments will rebound 6.5% to reach 1.38 billion units in 2021, according to Strategy Analytics. The growth is driven mostly by the improved economic situation as the COVID-19 pandemic weakens, a growing stock of aging smartphones and the operator/vendor push for migration to 5G.

“For 2021, we believe Xiaomi will emerge as the third largest global smartphone vendor surpassing Huawei. Xiaomi has been performing well in the India and Russia markets, and has also been very aggressive in Central & Eastern Europe and Western Europe,“ said Abhilash Kumar, smartphone analyst at Strategy Analytics.

2021 is going to be the year of Chinese smartphone vendors. In Asia Pacific, vivo, Xiaomi and OPPO will become top 3 players driven by aggressive marketing, expanding channel footprints and competitive pricing.

The report also notes that in Africa & Middle East, Transsion will pass Samsung as the largest vendor with Samsung falling to second place. Xiaomi will surge into third place ahead of Apple. In the Western European markets, Xiaomi will solidify its grip on third place after Apple and Samsung.