Xiaomi Overtakes Samsung in Chinese Smartphone Market Share

Eva Dou, reporting for the WSJ:

Xiaomi led China’s second-quarter smartphone shipment rankings with 14% market share, following by Samsung, Lenovo and Yulong each with 12%. It’s quite a jump from the first quarter, when Xiaomi’s 10.7% market share trailed Samsung’s 18.3% and Lenovo’s 11%. And an even bigger leap from a year ago, when Xiaomi only held 5%. […]

Xiaomi’s devices typically sell for more than $100, while Samsung’s high-end Galaxy smartphones typically cost more than $500.

Market share as a first priority generally doesn’t end well. When you compete on quality, “almost the best” will often still do pretty well. When you compete on price, “almost the cheapest” always loses.

★ Tuesday, 5 August 2014