Global smartphone shipments grew 27 percent in the second quarter, but the "star performer" of the period just might surprise you. No, it wasn't one of the usual suspects — Apple or Samsung — but China's Xiaomi, according to new data from Strategy Analytics.
The market research firm on Thursday reported that Xiaomi captured a record 5 percent market share in the second quarter to become the fifth largest smartphone vendor in the world for the first time ever. Overall, smartphone shipments grew to 295.2 million in the second quarter from 233 million units a year earlier.
"Xiaomi's Android smartphone models are wildly popular in the Chinese market and it shifts millions of them every quarter through its extensive online and operator channels," Strategy Analytics said. "Xiaomi's next step is to target the international market in Asia and Europe, where it will have to invest big money to familiarize western consumers with its unfamiliar brand name."
Xiaomi made headlines last year when Hugo Barra, previously vice president of product management for Android, left Google to join Xiaomi. He is now vice president of Xiaomi Global and tasked with expanding Xiaomi's product portfolio and business globally.
Last week, Xiaomi launched a $13 fitness tracked known as the MiBand and the Mi4 smartphone, a follow-up to last year's Mi3 smartphone.
Meanwhile, China's Huawei also had a good quarter, coming in third place with a record 7 percent market share. The company made "strong gains" in the LTE market with handsets like the Ascend P7.
Samsung retained its lead as the top smartphone vendor in the second quarter, shipping 74.5 million smartphones worldwide, but its share of the market dropped to 25 percent from 33 percent a year earlier. Apple took second place, growing a "below-average" 13 percent annually with 35.2 million iPhones shipped worldwide for 12 percent market share.
"Apple is currently in a holding pattern awaiting the expected launch of bigger-screen iPhones later this year," Strategy Analytics said.
Number four Lenovo also had a tough quarter. The company struggled in the fast-growing LTE market, and as a result its smartphone market share stayed "broadly flat" at around 5 percent.
Last quarter, Strategy Analytics listed its top four phone makers, lumping everyone else into the "other" category.
This time around, the firm listed the top six companies, with LG at No. 6 and 14.5 percent of the market. "LG is performing relatively well in the United States and Europe, but it continues to lag in the huge China and India markets," Strategy Analytics said.