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Xiaomi aren’t doing too well, apparently.

Yash GargAugust 15, 2016

Xiaomi happen to be one of the most discussed brands (if not the most discusses) here at GizChina. It’s the proactive nature of the company that doesn’t just keep its competitors at its toes, but also compels you to keep an eye out.

That said, Xiaomi may not be having the best time yet. According to data published by IDC, Xiaomi just saw a 38.4 percent drop in smartphone shipment volumes in China for Q2 2016 vs Q2 2015. This, when the smartphone market in China grew by 4.6 percent.

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What this also means is Xiaomi is now at #4 in China, from being #1 for a long while. The plummet in numbers can also be attributed to strong offline presence of phone makers such as OPPO, vivo, and Huawei, which now comprise of the big three in China.

In wake of this, Xiaomi have started diversifying their catalog even more. This year, Xiaomi introduced a scooter (hoverboard?), a drone, a laptop (a bit of a MacBook ripoff), and more.

Is it time for Xiaomi to start taking the offline market a bit more seriously?

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author

Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91
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- bojan radovanovic
  August 15, 2016
  No, they are the best, but only if you read miui forum (where everyone is giving their asses for a “badge”) and comments from fans like yours…
  - Sbz
    August 16, 2016
    Exactly. 1000+ pages of “oh great” “thanks” “yeah”
    How beneficial is that? =))))
  - Muhammad Yasir
    August 16, 2016
    im not a fan you dumbass !
    i just like low prices
    - Muhammad Yasir Snr
      August 18, 2016
- Beloved Chairman Lei Jun
  August 16, 2016
  XIAOMI IS BEST AND WILL ALWAYS STAY FIRST AND BEST NO MATTER WAT THE MILLET WILL RULE
  - Muhammad Yasir
    August 16, 2016
    - Beloved Chairman Lei Jun
      August 16, 2016
      As I know your country, the parcel probably get blown up before it arrives at your home.
      - Muhammad Yasir
        August 16, 2016
        pizzaboy
        August 20, 2016
        so i guees you’re not hate israel?
        Muhammad Yasir
        August 20, 2016
        well … no , not really
        maybe clear your mind first. not all jews are bad. there’s an actual difference b/w zionists and the actual jews…
        
        pizzaboy
        August 20, 2016
        i’m from israel , so im zioni , we’re not bad at all…
        i don’t know what do you hear on the news but i know that the press sometimes makes us look like a terrible persons , and we’re not…
        i just hope for a peace one day…
        Muhammad Yasir
        August 20, 2016
        i hope for peace too bro…
        don’t get me wrong , but the general concept is that Zionists are causing all the unrest in Middle East and especially in the Palestine region.
        IF you think some other lobby is giving you a bad name (like the Afghan migrants gave the Local , ingenious and native Pakistani Pakhtuns a BAD name ) then you should come out in the open and tell the truth.
        As far as my knowledge goes i know that there are Jews who GENUINELY care about peace and even campaign against all the Israeli aggression. And they live in Israel themselves. so im saying this clearly , that i myself believe that there are good people even in the Jewish community.

Yep
August 15, 2016
Inevitable. The smartphone market in general will only slow from here. Head mounted displays, done right, will replace smartphones in the near future.
- Assefa Hanson
  August 15, 2016
  - balcobomber25
    August 16, 2016
    My exact thought, other than the hilarious image of someone walking down the street with a head mounted display.
- David Košič
  August 16, 2016
  - Yep
    August 16, 2016
    So people are going to increasingly buy more new smartphones in the future? LOL. No. Smartphones, like PC and tablets, will be kept for longer because they suit the purpose of 99% of users and are increasingly more durable and future proof.

Rob
August 15, 2016
Doesn’t surprise me one little bit, there phones are always a little wide of the mark. I think their diversification (is that even a word!) has shifted their focus from smartphones and it really shows. Brands like Vivo, Oppo, Huawei, ZTE etc just have more style and better build quality that Xiaomi fail to match

MattD
August 15, 2016
I’ve learnt looong time ago to take those datas with a pinch of salt: just saying, look at apple in a q3 when it release nothing and the following year, when it shows the new iphone… That would mean +700% of growth over the same quarter in the previous year, but things are not that big of a deal as it sounds to…
However, they’re not in troubles, but they definitely needs something different from the “release as many phones as possible” policy to regain what they’ve lost due to the extraordinary growth of other brands like huawei
bojan radovanovic
August 15, 2016
It’s time they start taking REAL updates, not just cosmetic ones, a bit more seriously…
And NEVER, ever again produce something like Mi4i was.
- balcobomber25
  August 16, 2016
  Every company has a Mi4i skeleton in their closet. For the most part Xiaomi phones have been very good and the Mi4i was an anomaly.
- Natsumi
  August 17, 2016

This is just the beginning.
NextHype
August 16, 2016
IMHO Oppo / Vivo / Huawei are investing in design and marketing, where Xiaomi sits as a tasteless brand for ppl searching the highest bang for the bucks.
Maybe they should find a western star to embody their brand and start selling dreams instead of products ?
- wolvie
  August 16, 2016
  Yeah and those premium brands that you mentioned normally are selling at almost twice the price of Xiaomi products with same exact spec (or even better) LOL.
  - NextHype
    August 16, 2016
    twice the price and twice the volume ! Maybe you’re acting rational when you buy but it seems that’s not the same for everyone.
    Just check Apple and PCs : Apple has always sold their products twice the price of a PC specwise. They were almost dead late 90’s but they made a come back thanks to design and marketing. Now they’re selling overpriced products to poor people with debts. How’s that for irrationality ?
- balcobomber25
  August 16, 2016
  Design really isn’t the issue, that’s more of a subjective choice and Vivo (while making excellent phones) has some of the most generic designs around. The problem is those companies are becoming international names while Xiaomi is still focusing on the local market, and failing in the process.
  - NextHype
    August 17, 2016
    Maybe focusing on the internal market was a bad idea but it doesn’t explain why they’re losing shares on the market they’re focusing in. I think that’s a problem of brand identification, and it has to do with design and marketing, but i may be wrong. What other cause do you think of ?
    As for the design, Vivo was the first chinese brand to seriously go for the “Edge” design and succeeded with Play 5 while Mi5 was misshapen and low quality built.

Young
August 16, 2016
They should spend money on advertisement and also enter more countries.
balcobomber25
August 16, 2016
The biggest problem for Xiaomi is their slow growth outside of China. Oppo and Huawei are expanding to the west, Vivo offers unified models for every country they are in. Xiaomi on the other hand is a mess when it comes to selling outside of China. Some countries are still selling the Mi4 as a “new” model. Xiaomi is too big of a company to ignore the international markets, and if things don’t change sooner rather than later they will fall even further.

Steven Fox
August 18, 2016
Well, with Huawei having killed it internationally and LeEco starting to really gain traction it really was natural.
Lots of competition around, good for the consumer.
Kris
August 18, 2016
Xiaomi has really poor management. I mean, why the hell did they enter the laptop business – Lenovo will destroy them. Their mi 5 got international attention and the dont use it. And least but not last, instead of investing money in some animations in miui, they could invest their money into their design language which at moment nobody undestands (example: redmi note 3 and the mi 5 have absolutely nothing in common)

trapchan
August 24, 2016
mi5 looks ugly compared to iPhone’s ripoff (meizu / oppo) even though it give most for the money, people won’t buy ugly things. redmi 3/3s is a step in the right direction, balanced price / design. Not sure about 3x, never holds it personally.
SwervO
October 27, 2016
They should be focusing on the western markets, USA especially is so ripe for the taking! Quality and Specs on par with Samsung and Apple, but for much less money.
Peter Stein
November 1, 2016
I have started with a MI4 then I got a MI Note and now I have a MI5 pro
All are great phones and for for the price unbeatable I buy them on my trips to China and all 3 are working flawlessly
Untill there is nothing better I stick with xiaomi