realme ranks no. 1 in PH smartphone market for 2021 – Canalys

Three-year-old tech brand realme continues to showcase its strength in the local market, having been hailed the no. 1 smartphone brand in the Philippines for 2021 based on global research firms Canalys and IDC. 

 

According to Canalys, realme ranked first for Q4 2021 in terms of sell-in shipments, besting four other smartphone brands as it accounted for 20% of the local market share. The brand has held this position since Q1 2021 making it the leading vendor for the whole year with 23% unit share. Canalys reported a 19% year-over-year growth for the fast-rising tech and lifestyle brand as compared to its market share for 2020.

The brand’s market leadership for 2021 was further validated by International Data Corporation (IDC) as the research firm also reported the number 1 ranking of realme in its recent Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report. 

 

According to IDC, realme clinched the top spot for the fourth consecutive quarter as it captured 20.6% of the local smartphone market, growing by 7.9% quarter-on-quarter.

For the entire year, the firm also reported a no. 1 finish for realme with an overall market share of 22.2%, generating 7.9% growth year-over-year. 

 

These achievements ultimately demonstrate the brand’s steady growth and momentum in the local industry despite being a relatively new contender in the Philippines. realme entered the Philippines in November 2018 and has since gone on to achieve tremendous success by offering quality tech innovations at accessible prices. This month, realme is set to launch its highly anticipated Number Series line-up: the realme 9 Pro Series, offering flagship-level features at the midrange segment. This will be held on March 15, 6PM, on the realme Philippines Facebook page. 

 

“2021 has been an incredible year for realme and we can’t thank our Filipino Squad enough for the love and support it has given the brand since 2018. This year, we dare to leap higher, further, and stronger by focusing on overall product innovation, portfolio expansion, and increased customer availability, providing only the best to our fans, partners, and stakeholders”, shares Austine Huang, VP for Marketing, realme Philippines. 

 

To know more about realme’s latest updates, follow the realme PH Facebook page at http://facebook.com/realmePhilippines or visit the official realme website at https://www.realme.com/ph/.

Xiaomi is #2 worldwide

Canalys, the leading global market research firm, launched its Q2 global smartphone market report in which Xiaomi took second place with a 17% share and an 83% YoY growth, surpassing Apple.

Canalys expressed that Xiaomi is now transforming its business model from challenger to incumbent, with initiatives such as channel partner consolidation and more careful management in the open market. Canalys commented that Xiaomi's new goal is to displace Samsung to become the world’s largest vendor.

In a letter to all employees, Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, pointed out that becoming the World's No. 2 is a key milestone in Xiaomi's history. After five years of self-improvement under extremely difficult conditions, Xiaomi's product capabilities have been enhanced significantly - they paved the way for the premium market segment and increased its market share. Xiaomi will continuously strengthen its core capabilities and cement its place as the second largest smartphone brand. 

In Q4 2020, the global shipments of Xiaomi reached 43.4 million units with 31.5% YoY growth, surpassing Apple for the first time and returning to the third place. In Q1 2021, Apple rose to No.2 with 15% of global smartphone market share, followed closely by Xiaomi with its 14% of market share. Xiaomi's global smartphone shipments were 49.4 million units back then with 69.1% YoY growth. 

Since Xiaomi launched its first premium flagship Mi 10 series, it has been continuously innovating in critical areas, such as imaging, display, charging, smart manufacturing and more. Xiaomi is invested in achieving breakthrough in premium market, bringing cutting-edge leading technology to consumers, and helping to shape the direction of the industry.

Xiaomi has been the first to bring numerous industry-leading technologies to market. In camera technology, the company introduced the 108-megapixel camera, the GN2 camera sensor and an innovative liquid lens. In display, it has been pioneering the technology research of the third-generation under-display camera. Xiaomi has also led in battery charging, realizing 200W wired charging and 120W wireless charging for the very first time. In addition, it was the first to introduce graphene-based lithium-ion batteries and second-generation silicon oxygen batteries. Xiaomi is also a pioneer in mobile phone ceramics, leading the trend of industry exploration.

In addition, the first phase of Xiaomi's smart factory has started operation. Its production lines are automated and capable of manufacturing a million high-end smartphones per year, it is also a huge lab facility which enables Xiaomi to research new materials and technologies as well as test advanced manufacturing and production processes.

Innovation is part of Xiaomi's culture and the company invests considerably in R&D and recruiting the very best talent. Xiaomi has invested nearly RMB10 billion in R&D in 2020, this year the number is expected to increase by 30-40%. At the beginning of 2021, Xiaomi announced the biggest engineer recruitment drive in its history: 5,000 engineers in one single year, which will occupy 20% of total employees. Meanwhile, Xiaomi has launched multiple talent incentive initiatives such as one million US dollars award project for technology talents, young engineers incentive plan, etc. Nearly 700 young engineers of Xiaomi were granted 16 million shares, following the incentive plan just in the month of July. 

Xiaomi's global expansion as well as the transformation in new retail channels have been an important driving force in helping the company become the second largest smartphone manufacturer. According to the latest global smartphone data of Canalys, Xiaomi is expanding fast in overseas markets, reaching over 300% YoY growth in Latin America market, over 150% YoY growth in Africa and over 50% YoY growth in Western Europe. According to the Q1 2021 Results Announcement of Xiaomi, Xiaomi smartphones have entered over 100 markets worldwide, ranked No. 1 in terms of smartphone market share across 12 markets and ranked No.2 in Europe. It is also No. 1 in India for years.