(Yicai Global) July 16 -- Chinese mobile phone giant Xiaomi Corp. elbowed past US tech behemoth Apple in the second quarter to seize second place in worldwide handset sales for the first time, according to the latest research.

Beijing-based Xiaomi took 17 percent market share in global shipments of smartphones in the three months ended June 30, according to data released by Singaporean market research firm Canalys today. It ranked behind South Korea’s Samsung which had a 19 percent share and ahead of Apple’s 14 percent.

The new pecking order comes on the back of a huge 83 percent jump in deliveries in the second quarter, Xiaomi Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun said today. Xiaomi’s overseas revenue accounted for half of the company’s total income. It is now operating in over 100 markets worldwide and is the top handset seller in ten of these countries.

Sales in Latin America quadrupled, those in Africa jumped two and a half times and shipments to Western Europe increased by over 50 percent, Canalys research manager Ben Stanton said.

Xiaomi’s products are on average 40 percent cheaper than those of Samsung and 75 percent less expensive than Apple. One of its top priorities this year will be to increase the sales volume of its high-end products, Stanton said.

Overall, handset sales worldwide increased 12 percent in the second quarter from the same period last year as the global economy rebounds from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rival Chinese phone makers Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. and Vivo Communication Technology came fourth and fifth respectively, both with 10 percent market share. Dongguan-based Oppo’s market share jumped 28 percent while Vivo’s leapt 27 percent.

Editor: Kim Taylor