The 10-year-old Company Defeating Apple in its own Game
2020 has come with lots of surprises, especially in the tech market. Considering Samsung lost to Huawei in the 2nd Quarter of the year sales. But as expected, the third quarter has had its surprises, while Samsung regained its top position, Huawei following closely.
Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi overtook Apple for the first time. In global cellphone revenue and now ranks third among manufacturers. According to an IDC consultancy report published on Thursday night, 29.
What we all never expected was for Apple to lose to Xiaomi. Well, Xiaomi is a young company compared to iPhone so obviously, this hit different.
Short History About Xiaomi
Xiaomi was created in April 2010 by former Kingsoft CEO Lei Jun, as a software company that produces a custom ROM replacement supported by Google’s Android. Their mission was to offer additional features that Android had yet to deliver and an easy interface to use. MIUI, the ROM developed by the team, has been a massive hit and has been transferred to a variety of smartphones. As of 2014, MIUI is mostly downloaded and updated on more than 200 smartphones in both English and Chinese, and even non-developers can quickly install MIUI on their phones using the MIUI Express APK. As of 2013, Xiaomi had more than 30 million MIUI users worldwide! Really impressive for a young business like that!
The MIUI ROM is compared to Apple’s iOS because it is very easy to use while offering advanced services such as cloud storage, an easy-to-use music player, and its own app store. The Xiaomi team wanted users to feel part of the business and happily battle fan reviews through multiple channels and upgrade the ROM every Friday with bug fixes, optimization, and extra features. It’s too amazing to be true? Oh, try it for yourself, as it’s actually already available for your computer.
Entering the hardware market
Xiaomi launched the Mi One phone in 2011. They not only made their own applications but also their own hardware. The Mi One was a top-of-the-range phone with an outstanding price way ahead of its time, and this has been Xiaomi’s concept from day one.
while analysts are eager to name the Beijing-based business “The Apple of China,” Xiaomi likes to equate themselves to Amazon, build strong hardware that they sell at a cost price, and claim that their software and content make up much of the sales. Speaking of this, for 2013 alone, their turnover of more than $5 billion is incredibly remarkable for a replacement organization. There are parallels between Xiaomi and Apple, but both hardware and software firms have tight leverage over supply chains and both have a feverish fan base. Apart from that, the two firms don’t have anything else in common, Apple has priced their smartphones at insane prices, and they don’t contest much user input where Xiaomi does the other.
Xiaomi’s expansion to date
In 2012 Xiaomi shipped a total of 7.2M smartphones and in 2013 Xiaomi shipped a total of 18.7M smartphones and also shipped more than Apple in one quarter. During the half-moon of 2014, Xiaomi has already delivered more than 11 m smartphones, sold in full in 2012, and just over half the 2013 sales figures. Demand tends to grow due to the high-performance hardware of their devices and hence the price at which they market their goods.
International markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore were Xiaomi’s next target, and they also encountered similar demand from China. This continued globalization from China has triggered the high-profile hiring of Hugo Barra (ex-Google android executive) whose job it is to get new markets. Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and India preceded the launch of the Xiaomi mobile. This will inevitably lead to the introduction of a European and US politician. And besides, customers who want Xiaomi phones (and many do) are able to pay for the cash to be shipped.
Apple vs Xiaomi Market Rivalry
In 2014 Xiaomi did beat apple in shipment. So, this not so much exciting but then How is Xiaomi doing it how do they manage to defeat Apple a company formed in April 1976?
Apple is over 36 years older than Xiaomi…
Never before has Apple been faced with such fierce competition from a multitude of competitors from across the world. All competing for a share of the lucrative luxury smartphone market. Matching or beating Apple’s iPhone on hardware consistency, these phones are likely to be more capable, sometimes cheaper, perhaps crucial to China. Manufactured by local companies, not just those from the US and South Korea.
What Xiaomi Does Different from Apple
a) Pricing and affordability
While Apple is busy selling its iPhones at Ludicrously high prices, Xiaomi Focuses on a wider market range from $100 smartphones to $800. All not compromising and having good specifications
b) Customer preferences
While iPhone is the know it company, know everything you need on the new iPhones, hardly considering customer needs.
On the other hand, Xiaomi will take much time considering everything and all suggestions from its customers. This is a major factor considering customer satisfaction is key.
c) The User Interface
MIUI is getting better every day, not comparer able to iOS which hardly allows for customization.
d) Wide variety
Xiaomi manufactures a wide variety of smartphones in a year compared to the 4 variants that Apple has. Also, consider refresh rates, battery capacity all these favors Xiaomi. Who is somewhat targeting to replace Huawei whose fate is hardly known.
Conclusion
Well, maybe apple might recover in the fourth quarter of the year. Especially with the release of the iPhone 12 series. This much anticipated for thou we can just wait to see. All in all, this is an awakening call for Apple.
You might also like Why Android is Better Than iOS in 2020
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Check the results of IDC for the sale of cell phones in the 3rd quarter:
Manufacturer
Market share
Number of cell phones sold
Annual growth
Samsung 22.7% 80.4 million +
2.9% Huawei 14.7% 51.9 million –
22% Xiaomi 13.1% 46.5 million +
42% Apple 11.8% 41.6 million –
10, 6% Alive 8.9% 31.5 million +
4.2% Others 28.8% 101.7 million -2.4%
Total
100%
353.6 million
-1.3%
With information: IDC
