According to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, the world’s best-selling smartphone in February 2014 was the iPhone 5s. While that’s not much of a surprise, this one is: Xiaomi had two models in the top ten highest-selling smartphones in the world in that same time.
The top ten list is an interesting look at the highest-selling smartphones in the world for the month of February. While the flagship staples are naturally present, including the Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3, and the aforementioned iPhone 5s, it is the rest of the entries which provide plenty of points of interest.
For instance, there were a total of five Samsung devices in the top ten list, including the Galaxy S4 and the Note 3. The other three models were the Galaxy S4 Mini and, surprisingly, the Galaxy S III and S III Mini. Apple had three devices in the top ten list, which are the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and the iPhone 4s. We were pretty confused by the fact that the iPhone 5c was actually the second-best-selling smartphone in the world in February, but Counterpoint notes that this was “mostly due to the big clearance discounts in Western markets”.
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What’s most surprising, of course, is the inclusion of two models from Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi in the list. The flagship Mi 3 and the affordable Hongmi/Redrice/Redmi were both in the top 10 best-selling smartphones in February this year, edging out more popular brands such as LG and Sony (who both have one model each in the top 20). The figures are remarkable too, considering that the Redmi was only available outside of China in one country: Singapore – and towards the end of February at that. The Mi 3 was only available in its native China, making its tenth-place entry all the more surprising
Perhaps more importantly, the top ten list indicate an increasingly positive trend for the Chinese company. Already known as the Apple of China, Xiaomi is also in the midst of aggressively moving out of its home country into more markets. It has already branched out into Singapore, where it is Xiaomi’s global HQ, and it is set to expand into Malaysia this month, with the promise of more to follow.
(Source: Counterpoint Technology Market Research)
