Forget Apple, Xiaomi Is Doing Even Worse In China

Apple has been in news for not selling enough iPhones and there has been quite a hue and cry over it. All sorts of questions have been raised: has Apple lost its glorious touch? Is there not enough innovation coming out of the spaceship campus in Cupertino? And many more.

However, one brand that is reportedly doing worse than Apple and that too in its home country is Xiaomi. According to a report by Bloomberg, Xiaomi’s shipments have fallen by an embarrassing 35 percent in the last few months of 2018. The Bloomberg report cites a study done by IDC in which it has come to light that because of inventory corrections and internal restructuring Xiaomi has been doing badly.

Apple, on the other hand, suffered a decline of 20 percent in terms of units shipped. It has been well-documented that the trade war between US and China has hurt the iPhone maker quite badly. What hasn’t helped is that the new iPhones – XS, XS Max and XR – are considered quite expensive. An analyst also said that people are now upgrading iPhones less frequently than they used and all these factors have dented Apple’s dominance.

One brand that finds itself amidst fair share of controversies – courtesy the US and a few European countries — is Huawei but has been doing exceedingly well, according to IDC. It leads the market in China with an increase of 23 percent in units shipped. The second and third spot was held by Oppo and Vivo whereas Apple followed them in the fourth spot. Xiaomi ranked fifth in terms of shipments in China.

It must be a cause of worry for Xiaomi as while it continues to grow in India, its form on the home turf hasn’t been too well. Overall, the smartphone market in China has declined by 9.7 percent, according to IDC.―Times Of India