The Chinese smartphone market is boosted by new Xiaomi models’ strong start.. Analysts claimed that Xiaomi’s (1810. HK) sales of more than a million units of its most recent flagship smartphone in the week following its introduction are a new indication that the downturn in China’s phone industry may end.
The largest smartphone market in the world has seen a long-term fall in demand as consumers postpone replacing their phones due to the COVID-19 outbreak and a shaky economic recovery.
“Sales of the Mi 14 series have exceeded one million units, and there is still a severe shortage of the phones,” Lei Jun, the Chief Executive Officer of Xiaomi, posted this week on Weibo.
On October 31, the model was put on sale in China. It uses the state-of-the-art Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU from Qualcomm and the exclusive HyperOS software from Xiaomi.
A strong launch “reinforces signs of the market bottoming out,” according to Will Wong, an analyst with IDC, an industry research group.
It follows a sharp increase in Huawei’s (HWT.UL) sales as customers snatched up its Mate 60 series phones, marking the company’s comeback from export restrictions imposed by the United States in 2019.
After ten straight quarters of losses, IDC estimates the Chinese market is on track to achieve a year-over-year sales increase in the fourth quarter. It didn’t say how much growth there was.
The American chipmaker Qualcomm also said this week that smartphone manufacturers, particularly in China, are placing a high priority on its products.
With the Mi 14 series, which ranges in price from 3,999 to 6,499 yuan ($550 to $890), Xiaomi is attempting to compete with Apple (AAPL.O) and Huawei in the luxury smartphone market.
