Xiaomi now world’s third biggest handset maker

Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi now ranks third in worldwide smartphone market share, according to the Q3 2014 report by research and analytical company International Data Corporation (IDC).

According to the same data, world smartphone sales have increased 25% from the previous year, which can be attributed to new smartphone releases and an increase in emphasis on emerging markets. Handset makers shipped a total of 327.6 million units during the third quarter of 2014 (Q3 2014), resulting in 25.2% growth when compared to the 261.7 million units shipped in Q3 2013 and 8.7% sequential growth above the 301.3 million units shipped in Q2 2014.

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Samsung is still the king, and remains on top as it eats up 23.8% of overall market share, a 8.2 percent decline from their sales the same period last year. Apple follows at second, and gained a few percentages at 12% notably because of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus that were announced and sold during the quarter.

Xiaomi gained a very significant 211% increase in sales from Q3 2013 and placed third in the worldwide rankings, which can be credited to their smartphone lineup launch in new markets. Laptop and smartphone manufacturer Lenovo and Korean electronics giant LG tied for fourth place, with only a difference of 0.01 in margin. IDC considers 0.01 percentage differences as a statistical tie.

Other smartphones that make the overall worldwide smartphone shipments this Q3 are 48.6%. This statistical data are mostly composed of branded shipments, and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.

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