Huawei surpasses Xiaomi to become largest mobile vendor in China

By David Curry Published October 23, 2015

Huawei has apparently snatched the top spot from Xiaomi in the Chinese market for the first time in the third quarter, according to research firm Canalys. The networking giant has shown 81 percent year-on-year growth, while Xiaomi is under pressure to reach its global target of 80 million sales by the end of the year.

“Huawei’s ascent to China’s smartphone throne is a remarkable feat, especially in the context of an increasingly cutthroat and maturing Chinese smartphone market,” said Jessie Ding, a research analyst based in Canalys’ Shanghai office.

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A wide selection of new Huawei devices have launched in the past 12 months, including the Mate S, P8, and G8. These phones have become favorites in China, alongside Huawei’s impressive line of low-end devices.

The massive upgrade in design is one of the major factors pushing more Chinese customers to Huawei, alongside cheaper prices compared to the iPhone, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy Note 5. Huawei is also making a large investment in online advertising, similar to Xiaomi and OnePlus. Promotions, flash sales, and Web games are pushing Huawei into a new realm of the smartphone market, one it previously couldn’t penetrate due to its enterprise image.

As Huawei reaps the rewards in China, it also prepares for a surge in U.S. sales, thanks to Google’s advertising campaign for the Nexus 6P. The first device developed by Huawei received great reviews across the board, including our own.

Xiaomi also plans to launch stateside soon, according to the company’s president Lin Bin. Speaking at the WSJDLive conference, Bin said the company is in talks to launch the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro in the U.S.

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