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Xiaomi founder Lei Jun vows to challenge Apple with sharpened focus on the global high-end smartphone market

  • Lei Jun described competition in the high-end smartphone arena as ‘a war of life and death’, which Xiaomi must overcome to continue growing
  • The stakes are high for Xiaomi after Apple once again became the world’s top smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter last year

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Xiaomi Corp founder and chief executive Lei Jun aims to make the company the biggest vendor of high-end smartphones in China in the next three years. Photo: Shutterstock
Iris Deng
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi Corp will ratchet up its challenge to Apple by focusing on the high-end segment of the global smartphone market, according to company founder and chief executive Lei Jun, as the mainland’s major handset makers rush to fill the void left by struggling Huawei Technologies Co.
“[We aim to] fully benchmark against Apple in [terms of] product and experience, and become China’s biggest high-end brand in the next three years,” Lei said in a post on microblogging platform Weibo on Tuesday, as he reiterated the company’s strategic goal to develop into the world’s largest smartphone vendor in the same period.

Lei’s post, published the same day the Beijing-based company’s management had their first strategic meeting after the Lunar New Year break, described competition in the high-end smartphone arena as “a war of life and death”, which Xiaomi must overcome to continue growing. He also repeated the firm’s pledge to invest 100 billion yuan (US$15.71 billion) in research and development over the next five years to help achieve its ambitions.

The stakes are high for Xiaomi after Apple unseated Samsung Electronics to become the world’s top smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter last year, seizing a 22 per cent global market share on the back of strong demand for its iPhone 13 line, according to a report published last month by Canalys. The independent analyst firm said Chinese Android smartphone vendors Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo rounded out the global top five ranking last quarter.
Xiaomi Corp will roll out 20,000 more retail stores across mainland China over the next three years to expand its business in the country’s vast rural areas, while helping drive the company’s goal to become the world’s top smartphone vendor by 2024. Photo: Shutterstock
Xiaomi Corp will roll out 20,000 more retail stores across mainland China over the next three years to expand its business in the country’s vast rural areas, while helping drive the company’s goal to become the world’s top smartphone vendor by 2024. Photo: Shutterstock

In the second quarter last year, Xiaomi managed to become the world’s second-largest smartphone vendor for the first time, ranking ahead of Apple and just behind Samsung, according to data from Canalys. It said Xiaomi’s 17 per cent global market share that quarter was driven by increased smartphone shipments in South America, Africa and western Europe.

Xiaomi’s quest to lead the global smartphone market hit a speed bump in the third quarter last year, as sales slowed because of the global semiconductor shortage and weak demand in China’s highly competitive handset market.
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