China's Xiaomi Closes In On Samsung, Apple

Global smartphone shipments reached a record 320 million units in the third quarter, due in part to an unlikely vendor: Xiaomi. The Chinese smartphone maker stole the spotlight by capturing 6% market share due to the growing popularity of its mid-tier Android smartphones. This makes Xiaomi the third-largest smartphone vendor in the world behind Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. , and the first time Xiaomi has ever made it into the top five. "This shows that there is still room to compete in this market," IDC mobile phone analyst Ramon Llamas said. Analysts say the next step is for Xiaomi to expand outside of its home market, where it may face low brand awareness. In total, vendors shipped 25% more smartphones year-over-year. Samsung remained the clear leader by shipping 78 million phones, while Apple shipped 39 million. Both lost market share to Xiaomi, Lenovo Group and LG Electronics .