Xiaomi has to tackle Huawei first before taking on Samsung
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E-mail China Daily, January 19, 2015
"It remains to be seen whether Xiaomi could retain its position as the world's third-largest smartphone vendor, as the fourth quarter data of last year is still being finalized," said Yan Zhanmeng, senior analyst at industry consultancy IDC China.
Yan expects the latest Mi Note to gain popularity among advanced regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, while users from emerging countries such as India and Malaysia will be more inclined to purchase its cheaper models.
"Strategically speaking, Mi Note's role is to broaden Xiaomi's customer base by filling the gap of high-end users," added Yan.
Going global
Though hopes are high for a one-on-one competition and even shift in position between Samsung and Xiaomi, analysts who spoke to chinadaily.com.cn dismissed the possibility in near future.
"Samsung has more advantages in product design and patent reserve," said Xu Hao, adding Samsung has been reflecting on its strategies and will likely improve its sales in the next move.
Samsung is not the sole competitor, and despite Xiaomi's marketing approach to take on iPhone, its real direct target may not the two smartphone behemoths, said Yan Zhanmeng.
Nomura expects the growth rate of China's smartphone market to continue to slow in 2015 due to saturation of the smartphone adoption rate and operators' subsidy cuts, but Chinese brands will sustain 20 to 25 percent growth driven primarily by exports demand.
"Xiaomi's overseas sales will grow at a faster pace than its domestic market," said Yan.
Xu added that Xiaomi will play catch-up in its patent issue. The company has been sued in Indian courts over IP disputes and the case is due for hearing on Feb 5, according to Reuters.
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